The Link Between worlds
by silverstar94
Summary: The Straw-hat pirates wound up unexpectedly in the 21st century; how do they cope? Chapter 13 now up - The crew's trip to the circus ends in havoc and Zoro has a SERIOUS bad hair day...
1. It All Begins

Disclaimer: I do not own _One Piece_ or any of its characters. The plot, however is mine… all mine… Muahahaha! _*ahem*_ yes… anyway…

This is my first ever fan-fic so please leave a review to help me improve in the future! This first chapter is kind of just an introduction, by the way, so it's not that interesting compared to what's to follow.

Note: in the _One Piece_ world I'm starting at the point where the crew have escaped the marine base and are on their way to the next island, so their current ship is the 'Going Merry' and not the 'Thousand Sunny'.

Thanks, and enjoy!

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Chapter 1 - It all begins

What would you do if a strange old lady walked up to you one day and gave you a random piece of wood, claiming it was magical? You would probably think she was on crack and was nuts. And, that's just what Lynn Vienna assumed when she took the strange wood into her hands. However, the small shape interested her. It took the form of a traditional castle gate and was no bigger than the palm of her hand. Its elegantly spiral-patterned arches and delicate details made it look like a precious antique. Near the top of the gate was a small hole, in which a thin metal loop had been placed and threaded through with the finest red coloured string, making it a pendant. She had to admit, it was very beautiful.

It was a cool Saturday afternoon. Lynn and her best friend Miriam were just two normal, bored teenagers hanging about on the surprisingly empty beach when they were approached by the mysterious ancient woman. The woman had simply walked up to them directly and pressed the wood into Lynn's hands.

"This is the gateway to another world. I bestow it to you, now that you are of age." Her voice sounded like crackling dry leaves when she spoke. "It is the link between reality and a dream." Lynn gave her a funny look.

What on earth did_ that_ mean?

The wrinkled old prune grinned crookedly. Her black eyes twinkled with an expression Lynn couldn't quite interpret.

"Figure out its wonders for yourself, as I am allowed to tell you no more. Though I must warn you, the gate could decide to trial you before accepting you as its new owner." With that she turned and walked away, disappearing into the shadows.

Lynn blinked. "Well, that was… strange…" Miriam didn't say anything, though her expression clearly illustrated her bewilderment. Lynn looked down at the gate she was holding.

"Could she have possibly meant this thing is some sort of portal?" Lynn wondered aloud.

"You don't really believe her do you?" Miriam asked. "I she was probably just an old quack who'd had too much to drink."

"Yeah!" Lynn agreed, "This is the 21st century! How old does she think we are?"

Miriam laughed. "But, say it _does_ work... Why don't you take me? I've always wanted to visit the 6th dimension!"

"Don't forget Toto and your red shoes!" Lynn joined in with the joke. They stood laughing for a while at how silly it sounded. Lynn fiddled with her little gate. What really baffled her was when she said, 'now you are of age'. It was like the old woman knew it was her 16th birthday only yesterday. Did that have anything to do with it?

"You know, something has been bothering me," said Miriam, frowning. "The old cracker said something about a 'trial'. I've got a bad feeling about it."

"What could happen?" Lynn laughed it off, but deep down, she was concerned too. The incident had been too strange. It made her feel uneasy. Plus, 'what could happen?' are usually famous last words...

"Is it really all right me just taking it?" Lynn wondered aloud as she slipped the gate over her head and onto her neck. "I feel like I'm stealing."

"But, you aren't," Miriam said defensively. "She _gave_ it to you. It's yours, fair and square."

Suddenly, Lynn felt the gate start to vibrate. It trembled and shook, making both girls gasp in surprise. Then, with a sickening crack, it split into a dozen pieces and shattered. The most shocking thing, though, was that none of the broken piece landed on the ground. In a stream of light, each piece flew off in a different direction, shooting away from the source like fireworks. They disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS _THAT!_" Miriam screamed.

Lynn simply stood and blinked rapidly. It had happened so fast. She quickly looked down at the gate which hung from her neck. Or rather, what was left of it. It was still attached to the string, except it was now only a tiny piece.

"It just exploded!" Miriam continued to panic. "Was that old nutcase a_ terrorist_?"

"It didn't explode," Lynn said, "or we'd be dead by now."

"Then what on earth _was_ that?"

Lynn couldn't answer. She was just as confused as Miriam was. But she knew for a fact that something wasn't right about that piece of wood. What exactly was it? Why the hell was _she_ given it? She had tons of questions and it annoyed her that she wasn't about to get any answers to them.

X x X x X x X x X

_The ocean was calm and steady, and the sun shined brightly onto a ship which sailed slowly and gently with the breeze. On its mast was a pirate flag with a straw hat on the grinning skull. It was the Going Merry carrying her crew - the Straw Hat Pirates._

"_Hurry up with dinner, Sanji! I'm starving!" a boy called from his favourite seat on the figurehead of the ship. When he didn't get a response he repeated his demand, only louder. Much louder._

"_Oi oi," Sanji muttered, emerging from the kitchen and onto deck. "It's only gone noon, Luffy. Keep your hat on."_

_Luffy glanced up at his hat and put his hand on it. "But, it_ is_ on."_

_Robin smiled at this, not looking up from her book, sitting comfortably on her folding chair._

"_Food, food, food, food..." Luffy began a little chant. _

_The lounge door opened and an orange haired young woman walked out, stretching her arms. "What's all this ruckus?" she complained frowning. "I thought I told you to keep it down whilst I'm working on my map?"_

"_But, Sanji won't give me any food!" Luffy pouted._

"_God, Luffy, we just had lunch an hour ago."_

"_I need my nutritions," Luffy argued. "Or my stamina will go down and I'll be weak in my next battle. You'll be responsible if I lose."_

_Sanji snorted. "I bet he didn't understand the meaning of half of what he said." He looked over to Usopp, who sat at the side of deck working on his latest gunpowder experiment. "Did you teach him that?"_

_Usopp started whistling innocently, and Sanji rolled his eyes at his obvious excuse. _

"_Oh, well. I'll let you off this time for disturbing me," Nami yawned. "I'm kind of tired, anyway. A bit of fresh air will do me good."_

_Sanji's eyes burst into love hearts. "Oh, Nami-swan is so cute when she's tired!"_

_Ignoring him like she usually does, Nami rubbed her wrists, which were beginning to ache. She decided to remove her Log Pose, just for a little while, and set it down onto the railing of the ship. _

_Suddenly, a strong, sweeping wind caused everyone to turn their heads and stare at the thing which appeared above where Nami stood. Her jaw dropped in surprise._

"_WHAT THE HELL IS _THAT!_"_

X x X x X x X x X

Lynn leant against the apple tree and looked out to the ocean.

An hour had passed since the strange incident from before, and Miriam had been called home by her mum. Lynn decided to get some peace and quiet. Closing her eyes, she relaxed and quietly listened to the sound of crashing waves below her.

This was her favourite spot. The apple tree sat at the end of the high street, away from noise but just close enough to civilization. The huge tree had been here for as long as she could remember, sitting on a piece of earth on the rocky cliff above the seaside.

Not only was it a great place to chill out, it also held many special memories for her. And, the apples that grew on it didn't taste half bad, either! Lynn grinned at a silly idea. 'If the apple didn't fall on Mr. Isaac Newton and fell on me instead… probably no one would know about gravity today!' she thought with snigger. Suddenly, a sharp pain on her head made her cry out.

"What the hell?" she mumbled, rubbing her head. "I wasn't serious about the apple, you stupid tree…"

That's when she noticed it wasn't an apple that smacked her on the head.

She blinked.

No way. But, she could recognize that thing from anywhere. A round glass ball on a strap, with a dangling magnet pointer. It was a Log Pose. She picked it up gently and turned it about in her hands. 'It must be a toy,' she thought, 'but why the heck did it fall out of a tree?'

"Aarrhhh!" a cry, followed by a loud _thud_, startled her.

She turned sharply, and leaves fell from shaken branches on the other side of the tree. "Ouch," a voice muttered, followed by a pause. "W-where am I?"

Lynn was shocked. Someone just fell from nowhere! "Are you alright?" she called, standing up and making her way around to where the figure stood.

The first thing that caught her attention was the hat. A strange, familiar straw hat encircled by a red ribbon. She froze. Standing before her was a boy. A rather familiar looking boy, wearing a red unbuttoned vest, blue shorts and sandals. His face was hidden by shadows beneath his straw hat.

"Y-y-you…"

He turned on hearing her voice and she could see his face clearly now.

The dark hair peeking from under his hat and his scar under the left eye. There was no mistaking it.

"Monkey D. Luffy?"

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AN: Right, that's the end of chapter one, hoped you liked it! Though I've barely even started yet! Future chapters will be longer, funnier and more exiting! And it'll just keep getting better, promise!

Okay, see you in the next chapter and don't forget to review! I thank you for your help in advance!


	2. The Boy From the Other Side

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _One Piece_ or any of its characters.

Lynn: Thank God you don't. Because if you did... _*shudders*_

SS (me): Shut up. I created you, so you have no right to talk.

Lynn: You're crazy.

SS: Watch it, smart mouth, or I'll chuck you out of the story.

Lynn: If you chuck me out the whole story is going to crumble.

SS: _Grrr..._

Lynn: HAHA! In your _face!_ Muahahaha!

SS: And, she calls_ me_ crazy...

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Chapter 2 – The Boy From the Other Side

Lynn stared at the boy that stood before her. This was too weird. That didn't look like a pathetic cosplay, and that scar wasn't a fake, either.

"Holy cow, I think I'm going crazy…" she muttered, holding her head.

The boy tilted his head. The girl in front of him was somewhat small, compared to the heights of his other crew members and had deep brown eyes and black hair, tied in two rather cute looking low bunches on either side of her head. He found her startled expression quite amusing and laughed. "You're funny! Who are you?"

"Who are _you_?" she demanded in response. "Where the heck did you come from?"

"There." He pointed upwards.

And, for the first time she noticed it. A glistening circle of light positioned in the mist of branches. "What is _that_?" she cried in surprise.

"Beats me," the boy shrugged. "But, that thing sucked our Log Pose away so Nami sent me to come after it."

'Log Pose?' "This?" Lynn handed him the one that fell on her head earlier.

"Ah! Yes! That's it!" he cried happily. "Thanks!" He took it and strapped it onto his wrist.

The light above them started to dim and pulse.

That didn't seem good.

The boy noticed it, too, and stared. Then, it quickly sucked in on itself and disappeared without a trace, happening so suddenly that it left both of them dazed.

"What the hell is going on?" wondered Lynn aloud.

From the where the light once was, a piece of dark material fell onto the ground. The boy bent down and picked it up.

"Eh? What's this thing?" He examined it curiously.

Lynn gasped. She recognized it. It was, without a doubt, a shard of her wooden gate-charm. The boy looked at her. "You know what this is?"

"Y-yes…" she stuttered, taking a closer look. There was no mistaking such a uniquely patterned design.

"Is it edible?" asked the boy as he raised it to his open mouth.

_"No!"_ Lynn shouted, snatching it away. "It's important! Plus, it's made of wood. You don't eat wood!"

"You can. I've done it before," he protested. "It tastes like chicken, really…"

She held it away from his reach and he pouted, like a child who lost his candy. "I'm huungryyy…" he groaned, slumping to the floor hands over his stomach.

Lynn ignored him and quickly fished out her necklace, which had on it attached her small section of the gate. She put the two together and, as she expected, they fitted perfectly. Then she watched in awe as the crack between them disappeared with a glittering glisten. What was left was a whole piece of wood with no sign that it was ever cracked. This was no ordinary piece of wood, Lynn could now be certain.

"Maybe the old woman wasn't lying. Maybe this _is _a gateway between worlds!" she thought, and glanced over at the boy who fell from the light. "Then this boy must be… the real thing?"

"Oi," Lynn bent down beside him. "Are you Monkey D. Luffy?"

"How do you know?"

Her smile grew. "So you're like the real deal? This isn't a cosplay?"

"Eh?"

"Prove it."

"What?"

"Are you really a rubber man?"

"Sure."

Her grin widened. "Can you show me?"

He pulled his right cheek all the way across his arm. "Hwot? Like dis?"

Lynn's jaw dropped open. "That… is…" she leant towards him. "So… COOOOL!" She took his arm and gave a pinch. His skin was soft and rubbery and stretched easily. She had never seen anything so awesome! A rubber man in real life was on a whole new level of cool from a rubber man in an anime! He grinned and let his cheek go. It snapped back into place.

"Wow! To think I'd meet the real Monkey D. Luffy!" she beamed.

Luffy stood up and stretched. "Where is this place?"

"It's a different world from yours," Lynn explained. "This is Whitby, a small town in England by the sea."

"What's an England?"

"It's a country. Like a large piece of land."

"Is it anywhere near Raftel?"

"Um, no… You're not even on the Grand Line anymore. Like I said, you're in a different world."

Luffy frowned and lowered his head in thought. "Whitby…" he muttered. "I get it!"

Lynn raised an eyebrow. "Do you really?"

"It's a mystery island!" he grinned, pleased with himself.

She slapped her forehead.

He didn't get it.

"Are you ill?"

"No, I am not ill, stupid!" she snapped at him but then laughed. "You've got a lot to learn!"

"Oh, I just remembered!" Luffy's smile disappeared in an instant and was replaced with a drained expression. "I'm hungry."

Rolling her eyes, Lynn fumbled in her pockets and pulled out a tenner. It should be enough.

"Come with me," she told him. "I'll get you something to eat."

"Really?" he leapt up immediately. "Let's go!" He started towards the high street, suddenly full of energy.

Lynn stopped. Hold on.

Letting loose a hungry Luffy in the bustling high street? There was no telling what he would do. He'd be arrested for sure! "On second thoughts," said Lynn, catching hold of his top collar, "you wait here and I'll bring back food, okay?"

"Can't I go, too?" he pleaded. "This place looks exciting! I wanna explore!"

"Exactly why I can't let you loose," she sighed. "You know nothing about this world, so all you'll do is cause havoc." She pushed him back on his shoulders to the tree. "Stay here, be a good boy and I'll bring the food to you. You can do the exploring later. Move one inch and that means no dinner."

Luffy immediately became stern and dropped cross-legged to the floor. "Gotcha. I won't move." With that, he stared straight ahead, a serious expression on his face. Lynn roll her eyes and started towards the high street.

This guy was really weird. She turned and glanced at his still silhouette, which looked like a meditating monk... with a hat. Sniggering, she dashed into the local Tesco's.

X x X x X x X x X

Lynn carried the four bulging plastic bags down the street, all of them full of ready to eat roast chicken, pork and such, wondering if she had maybe bought too much. Immediately after that thought, she laughed at herself. 'Too much?' she thought. "This is _Luffy_ we're talking about! Knowing him he'll scoff this down in two seconds and ask for desert!"

"Lynn!" a voice called. "Whatcha doing?" Lynn recognized Miriam's voice and panicked. What should she do? "Hey, what's in those bags?" Miriam asked, coming up behind her.

"Um… these are…"

"Whoa!" she exclaimed, peering in. "That's a hell a lot of food! You're not eating all that for dinner are you?" She checked her watch and added, "Besides, it's only half four."

Lynn thought hard. "It's… for... um... our fridge… Yeah! Fridge supplies!" What she said didn't even sound believable to herself.

"Is your fridge even big enough?" Miriam raised an eyebrow.

"OOH! FOOD!"

Lynn turned sharply to the source of the voice, only to find Luffy beside her sniffing the bags she was holding. "For me?"

Miriam looked shocked. "No, not for you, you little pervert!" she declared, trying to smack him away, but he dodged her blows easily.

"I thought I told you to stay over there!" Lynn cried angrily.

"But I was hungryyy..." he protested and snatched a bag from her hands. "Oooh! These smell good!"

"You know him?" Miriam pointed at Luffy, who was already tearing hungrily at some drumsticks.

"Sadly, yes."

She grinned cheekily and nudged her friend in the ribs. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"N-no way! He's… he's…" Lynn didn't know how on earth she was going to explain this.

"'ore foog!" Luffy cried with a mouthful of meat. He had finished a whole bag in less than ten seconds.

"He wants more? Is this a guy or an elephant?" Miriam looked amused.

Lynn noticed only the plastic Tesco bag laid at his feet. "Luffy, what did you do with the wrapping and the bones?"

"I ate them," Luffy replied.

"WHAT!_ Even the plastic covering?_"

"They smelt really nice." He noticed their startled staring. "You're not… supposed to eat them?"

X x X x X x X x X

Lynn, Miriam and Luffy sat under the apple tree by the sea, away from civilisation. Lynn had been trying to explain what had happened, but she found it rather difficult, as Miriam couldn't stop herself from cracking up. She had never taken interest in anime so she found what Lynn was saying quite amusing.

"Oh, so you're telling me, that this guy is a fictional character from the anime and manga 'One Piece' and he's a strong pirate captain with a crew, a ship, and a bounty of 100,000,000 quid?"

"Berries," Lynn corrected her.

"Whatever. And, you expect me to believe it?"

"Well, he's right here." She flicked a thumb towards Luffy, who was still stuffing down food like a hungry wolf.

"Are you serious?" Miriam, although she trusted her friend, had a hard time believing all this. "Do you have any proof?"

Lynn paused. "Well... I can prove he has strange powers. I mean, the guy's made of rubber."

"Go on, then." Miriam folded her arms across her chest.

Lynn stood up and took a whole roast chicken. Then she walked a few metres away and held it up. "Hey, Luffy! Do you want this one?" Straight away, his arm stretched past Miriam's face, snatched the chicken back and continued eating as if nothing happened. Miriam's jaw dropped to the floor.

"Monster!" she cried. "He's a monster!"

Luffy mumbled something through a mouthful, which sounded like "wobble gobble woo".

"Look, we can't understand you," Lynn said.

"Or oh wood..." he grumbled, frowning. Lynn reckoned that translated to 'you're so rude'.

She snorted. "Says you. Do have any table manners?" He gave her a funny look as if he'd never heard of anything of the sort.

Miriam swallowed. "H-h-how did he d-do that?" she stuttered.

"I ate a Devil Fruit," said Luffy, opening the last bag and chomping on another drumstick. "Ge wubba hroot. Ho I ga wubba wan."

Lynn laughed. She knew what he was trying to say. "He ate the rubber fruit so he's a rubber man! Cool, eh?"

"So, how do you suppose he got here?" Miriam asked. "The gateway?"

Nodding, Lynn showed her the piece of gate and explained what happened.

"Oh!" Luffy exclaimed, swallowing the last of his meat. "The wood thing got bigger!" he wiped his mouth on his arm. "Got any dessert?"

Lynn ignored him. "I have a feeling that if we find all the pieces and fix them together, we can create a portal to send him back!"

Miriam snapped her fingers. "I see. But, if this piece of wood created a small portal, then... wouldn't the other pieces as well?"

They looked at each other in horror as they realised what this meant. "Does this 'One Piece' show have any villains or monsters?"

"Sadly…" Lynn gulped, "yes. Loads and loads. This is an age of pirates were talking about. And, on the Grand Line you can get monsters the size of… you don't want to know."

"What are we going to do!" Miriam gasped.

"Right!" Luffy stood up and brushed off. "I'll be going back to my ship now. My mates are waiting for me."

Lynn sighed. "In case you haven't noticed, you dimwit, there's no way for you to get home."

"Mr. Light! Mr. strange light, where are you?"

He wasn't paying her any attention.

"Oh no!" Luffy cried. "The light's gone! How do I get back now?"

Lynn suddenly had an urge to punch him. "I just _said_, you _can't_ get back before we collect all these shards and open another portal or before another portal appears."

Luffy looked at her blankly. Lynn rolled her eyes and, despite hating explaining things, she did so anyway. After at least ten minutes of lecture, she felt her throat burning.

"Got it now?" she rubbed her sore throat gently.

He nodded. "Yes, I understand. That's a mystery piece of wood."

Her fist automatically shot out and punched him. He went sprawling to the ground as Miriam gasped.

"Glad I got that out of my system. Damn, now I know why Nami is always abusive towards you," Lynn muttered, and, seeing Miriam's concerned expression, she added, "Don't worry. Physical blows don't hurt him. He's rubber."

Standing up with her hands on her hips, she glared at Luffy. "Now, what do I do with you?"

He gave her an innocent grin. "Give me more food?"

"Denied. I'm skint."

"That's a problem isn't it?" Miriam said, getting on her feet. "Where do we keep him? We can't leave him here and he can't go back to his world, so..." She looked over at Lynn. "Your house or mine?"

Lynn sighed. Was that even a question? Miriam's house had only three bedrooms, and with both her parents and her sister home, she couldn't possibly have a random boy that she knew nothing about stay over.

Lynn, on the other hand, was an only child, had a few bedrooms to spare, and her parents, being marine biologists, were away on a business trip, staring at fishes in the Pacific.

"It best be mine, then," she said.

"What about the baby-sitter?" asked Miriam.

"I'm sixteen - I don't need a baby sitter. I'll just call and cancel our appointment. I've been home on my own before; mum and dad won't really mind." Lynn paused, and grinned sheepishly. "I hope."

"But, you're not alone, are you?" Miriam looked at Luffy, who grinned back, clueless of what was going on. "Oh well. I guess it can't be helped. I'm staying over at yours tonight. You'll need help with _him_, won't you?"

"Really?" Lynn cried gleefully. "Oh, I love you!" She threw her arms around Miriam.

"I love you, too!" Miriam joked.

"You two sound like Sanji!" grinned Luffy and he added, "Do you have anything else to eat?"

'Looks like I'm stuck with a bottomless food pit,' Lynn thought.

"Let's get him over to yours first," suggested Miriam. "It's kind of getting dark."

"I can't wait!" Luffy beamed. "A new adventure!"

Lynn rolled her eyes and smiled. She didn't like the sound of what he said, and she sensed trouble ahead, but she figured it'd all work out somehow.

Well, that's what she hoped…

X x X x X x X x X

"WOOOOWW!" Luffy's eyes twinkled with stars. "This house is soooo cool!"

"He acts like he's never seen a house before…" Miriam was surprised at Luffy's reaction to the detached villa at the end of the cul-de-sac.

"I suppose it _is_ different from the houses in his time, but I didn't expect this big an enthusiasm…" Lynn frowned. "If he acts like this before he even sees the inside…"

"Ooh!" he cried, pointing at the roof. "What's the thing sticking off it?"

They looked up and noticed he seemed to take an interest in the satellite dish. But, this _was _the first time he's seen one…

"Gomu gomu no…" He grabbed on to two shrubs and pulled back, stretching his arms. "Rocke-"

Lynn quickly caught onto his vest and jerked him away from the shrub before he could ping himself onto the roof. He landed with a bounce at her feet. "Don't do that!" she told him sternly.

"But, I want to see…" His attention shifted as he noticed something else that caught his eye. "What on earth is _this?_" He rushed over to Lynn's house's window and peered in.

Lynn pulled a face. She was beginning to doubt if this would work out.

"Should we even let him into my house? I mean we could just let him sleep on the streets…"

Miriam raised an eyebrow and Lynn sighed bitterly. "Why me? Oh, lord, why me?"

"I thought you've always wanted to go on an adventure?"

"This isn't an adventure; this is torture. There's a difference."

Miriam noticed Lynn's sudden change in attitude. "Why are you so suddenly pessimistic?"

Oh, there was a reason, all right. Lynn had thought at first that this might be fun, but that was before she remembered all the things in the house she did NOT want him to destroy. And, she only just realised that with his eating habits, she'd never cope! And, sooner or later, he'd definitely stir up unwanted trouble.

Maybe he'd flood the house, maybe he'd burn it down all together, maybe he'd escape outside and be arrested, maybe he'd get into a fight with the police and drag her into it, maybe people will eventually find out he's rubber and put him in a freak show, maybe he'll get put into a mental hospital for claiming to be a pirate, maybe…

Miriam saw Lynn getting more and more freaked out with her imaginings and gave her a shove. "It's not going to be _that_ bad."

"Oh, you'd better be right…" she mumbled, shaking away the terrible thoughts and pulling out house keys. The jingling of the keys caught Luffy's attention.

"Woah!" he cried, dashing over. "Are those keys? Why are they colourful and strange? What's that thing?" He pointed at the key chain dangling from it.

'Oh, my god, this guy's like a six year old,' thought Lynn, slotting it in the key hole. Before she pushed open the door, she gave him a strict list of rules for inside the house, the most important ones being 'Do not touch everything you see' and 'Do not attempt to eat everything you touch'. He nodded after every rule but Lynn doubted he'd remember any of them.

She sighed and opened the door.

"_Oh wow! What is THAT!_" Luffy leapt into the house, and all that could be heard was crashing from inside.

Lynn chased in after him.

"_Don't break the damn TV!_"

X x X x X x X x X

Miriam and Lynn collapsed onto Lynn's bed, finally relaxing after a long battle. Who'd have ever thought taking in a pirate captain would be so tiring.

Lynn and Miriam didn't know why on earth Luffy was so hyper. If anyone saw the state he was in, they would have assumed either Luffy was high on sugar, mental, or taking drugs. Lynn thought it was probably all three. Who knows what Sanji might have been feeding him…

For the past two hours they had had to:

*Explain the images inside a TV were _not_ real and for him not to try eating the screen whenever Burger King adverts came on or smashing it to _'save' _the person stuck in it.

* Tell him the fruit flavoured soaps are not edible. (Even if he did eat some in the end, anyway)

* Clarify that plastic flowers are for display purposes only.

* Yank his head out from the washing machine after he got stuck trying to explore in it. Twice.

* Scream at him for turning on the gas cookers and leaving them on.

* Describe to him what ice cream was before he went and ate the whole tub and got brain freeze. (Which he went and did, anyway, despite what they told him)

* Apologize to the neighbours after he went into the garden and barked at their dog.

* Tear him away from the computer.

* Rescue him from the 'terrors' of the whirring microwave.

* Snatch the permanent marker away before he could do anything_ else_ with it.

*Show him that earphones go in your ears and not your nostrils.

* Ban him from going into the fridge.

After all the ruckus, they sat him down on the sofa in front of the telly with popcorn and made him watch it.

Then they made their way upstairs and died.

"Right," said Miriam, trying to catch her breath. "How long do you think he'll be out of action for?"

"I'd say about an hour. Television is a wonderful thing."

"That's good." Miriam let out a sigh of relief and sat up. "Now, tell me some more about this guy - Luffy - so I can be prepared. After all, I'm a part of this mess now."

"Well, he's seventeen, 172cms tall, likes meat, is an airhead, bottomless food pit and insanely strong fighter but has about as much common sense as a dimwit, and as much energy as a squirrel on Red Bull."

"Yes, I figured that much…" said Miriam. "Anything else?"

"It's kind of long story," Lynn brought over her laptop and switched it on. "Here, I'll show you instead," she said, opening up Internet Explorer. As her familiar Google homepage popped up onto the screen, she carefully typed in the words 'Monkey D. Luffy' and clicked Enter. Then her eyes widened at what she saw.

"I-I don't get it…" she stuttered, shocked beyond words. "I-i-impossible…" Her heartbeat sped up as she scrolled down the page.

Link after link regarding monkeys and fluff. Nothing whatsoever about the world famous pirate captain. Miriam was slightly bewildered as well. Slightly panicking, Lynn went back a page and type in 'One Piece'. Some eBay links on one piece swimsuits and such, but nothing on the subject of the anime or manga.

She tried a few more pages.

Nothing. What was going on? It was like _One Piece_ never existed…

"I think I get it…" said Lynn softly. "Luffy crossed the line between fiction and reality. So in other words… _One Piece_ is no longer just a made up story on earth but a whole other world, maybe in another dimension."

Miriam stared at her. "You know how crazy you sound right now?"

"It's the only thing that makes sense." Lynn shrugged. "And, if I'm not wrong, it should have disappeared from everyone else's memories, too."

"My, this is strange…" Miriam scratched her head.

"I'll say," said Lynn. "But, at least it takes away the problem of him being recognized in public."

Miriam's growling stomach ceased both of their attentions. Miriam giggled sheepishly. "I'm kinda hungry. Why don't we grab a bite to eat?"

"How's pizza sound?"

Miriam grinned. "Great!"

Lynn fished out her mobile. "My parents left my £200 on my bank account before they left because they know they'll be gone at least a week," she explained to Miriam as she dialed the pizza express number. "But, I'm not sure that's going to last us a day if we're stuck with _him_."

"Don't worry. I'll help and chip in a bit, too," said Miriam encouragingly. "We can find a way to get some more money later."

Lynn nodded and then placed her order to the sweet, sugary voice at the end of the line.

Miriam's eyes widened as she spoke into the phone, and Lynn was sure she could sense the pizza express employee-girl's eyes widen, too. Not surprising really, seeing as how much she ordered.

"Can we really eat all that?" Miriam gaped at Lynn as she hung up after giving her address for delivery.

"Well, we've got a pig downstairs to help us."

"He ate four bags of meat earlier; will he seriously still be hungry?"

Lynn laughed as she began making her way out of the room. "Oh, believe me! He will!"

X x X x X x X x X

_DING DONG._

Luffy yelped and jumped up in alarm as the doorbell rang, raising his fists up in battle posture.

"Relax," Lynn told him, getting up. "It's just the doorbell. I bet that's the pizza I ordered."

"Pizza?" He began practically drooling.

Lynn opened the door and smiled at the delivery boy.

"Your pizzas, miss?" he raised six 18" pizzas. "That'll be £156.70 please. Card or cash?"

"Card," she said and slotted her credit card into the small machine he held up. Then she entered her PIN, and he handed over the pizzas.

"_Food!_" cried a voice from inside the living room.

No prizes for guessing who.

The delivery boy looked bewildered and tried to peek inside. "Doesn't look like you're having a party…" he said, handing Lynn her receipt. "Is all this for dinner?"

"Yep. We've got a hungry wolf in here that hasn't eaten for weeks." Lynn answered randomly, and laughed at the guy's startled expression. "Joke! Joke! The guests haven't arrived yet, that's all!"

The boy relaxed at hearing this. He had thought maybe Lynn had been torturing and starving people in there. "All right. Have a good party!" He turned and walked away.

"Thanks for the pizza!" Lynn called after him as he zoomed off on his scooter. She watched until he disappeared from sight before declaring the coast clear. She carried the giant pizzas into the living room and set them down. Luffy immediately attacked them, a famished look in his eyes.

"I don't believe this guy," chuckled Miriam, taking a piece for herself. "How on earth does he eat so much?"

"That's most my money gone," Lynn slid her credit card back into her purse. "Now, how the hell do we deal with this?"

She reached a hand out for a slice of pizza, but the ringing mobile disrupted her before she could do so. Luffy stopped eating and yelled in surprise.

"A_arhh! _Your pocket is making strange noises!"

Lynn took out her mobile and waved it in his face. "This is a mobile," she said slowly, as if talking to a young child. "It's like a den-den-mushi, you know?" On hearing that, he seemed more at ease but kept a curious eye on her as she answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Lynn! It's Jess!" Lynn recognized her voice. Jess was a good friend from school and usually sat behind her in lessons.

"Hi," she replied. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to warn you about the surprise history test on Monday." Jess was the daughter of their history teacher, so she tended to know about these things.

"What? No way!"

"What, what?" Miriam looked up from the pizza.

"Okay, thanks, Jess. You're a life saver."

"I'll see you at school then. Bye. I've got others to warn."

"Bye," Lynn sighed as she hung up. Both Miriam and Luffy have stopped eating and were looking at her. "Bad news," she told Miriam. "Surprise history test on Monday at school."

"What!" Miriam cried, shocked. "Damn, why does Mrs. Watson always do that? We're going to have to review all tomorrow if we want to pass."

"What's school?"

They both looked at Luffy in surprise. He'd never heard of school? 'Oh yeah,' Lynn realised. 'He probably never got a proper education, did he?'

"Well, basically, it's a place where they lock kids up and torture them and make them do a load of crap called homework."

Miriam laughed at Lynn's sarcastic explanation and so she described school _properly_ to Luffy before he freaked out and declared he was going to save them.

"Neat! Can I go to school?" Luffy asked when she had finished.

"_No!_" both Lynn and Miriam shouted in unison. "_No way!_"

"Please!"

"Nuh-uh, no way," Lynn shook her head furiously. Luffy in school? God knows what _he'd_ do.

He looked annoyed. "I'm captain, and I say I'm going to check out school. Take me, or I'll make sure you don't get any revision done tomorrow."

"I'd rather fail!" Luffy and Lynn had a bit of a staring contest before Miriam broke them up.

"Stop it, you two." She shoved them apart. "You're both acting stupid." She looked to Luffy. "You can't come to school, I'm sorry, because we won't be able to keep an eye on you in…" She suddenly paused. Then her eyes widened in realization. She turned to Lynn and said in a soft voice, "We _have_ to let him come."

"_Why?_" Lynn protested.

"I just realised, when we go to school on Monday there'll be no one to keep a leash on him. We can't leave him home by himself; he'll do something terrible if we're not around."

"But…" Her voice trailed off as the truth sank in.

Miriam was right. Luffy grinned triumphantly. "This sucks." Lynn knew if Luffy was to cause any trouble, she'd be dragged in, too. But, there wasn't really another option.

"Well, I guess we'll have to figure something out," Lynn sighed with a shrug. Then she turned and growled at Luffy. "Stop smirking like an idiot. You'd better behave on Monday, get me Luffy?"

"Yeah, okay!"

Somehow she didn't completely believe him. Sighing again, she reached for a slice of pizza, but her fingers touched only cardboard.

"Hey, where did all the pizza go?" She looked up at Luffy's bulging stomach and Miriam's guilty smile.

Did she even have to ask? Lynn held her growling stomach and gave Luffy a dirty look. He just grinned back.

"Any dessert?"

* * *

Next time: Luffy goes to school, gets himself a fan club (not purposely) and a new rival. And, gets flicked into the air by a trampoline!

Please, please review and I'll see you soon!


	3. School Riot

Disclaimer: I don't own_ One Piece_ or its characters! _*Luffy rushes in*_

Luffy: AARH! _*runs around in circles*_

SS: ...?

Luffy: I haven't done my physics homework!

SS: _*blinks*_ You don't _have_ any physics homework. _*pause*_ Do you even know what physics is?

Luffy: _*thinks hard*_ Ummm… Not quite sure…_ *sniffs the air*_ Is that food I smell? Must be lunchtime! _*walks away drooling*_

SS: _*slaps forehead*_

**

* * *

**

Chapter 3 - School riot

_The Going Merry drifted along with the waves slowly, almost reluctantly. Dawn was breaking. The first rays of sunlight peeked out from behind dark clouds._

_On board, a young woman with bright orange hair stood, staring onwards and drumming her fingers on the ship's railing. It was Nami, and she felt very irritable. _

"_Good morning, Navigator-san," said an older woman, brimming with mature beauty, emerging from the bottom deck. "You're up very early this morning, aren't you?"_

"_Morning, Robin," she muttered without even looking back. Robin smiled, as she knew what was bothering her. "Our captain-san isn't back yet, is he?" _

"_What the hell is taking him so long?" Nami grumbled. "He's been gone since yesterday. We can't drift here forever, but we can't sail on without a captain, either." She turned to face Robin, who had made herself comfortable sitting in her usual folding chair with a good book and a coffee in hand. "What do we do, Robin? We're running low on food supplies and, judging by the clouds, there's a large storm coming tomorrow evening."_

"_Why not anchor the ship at the nearest island?" Robin suggested, tucking a strand of her dark shoulder-length hair behind her ears. "Then we can stock up on some food and take shelter in the ship without worrying about being blown away by the nasty winds."_

"_That's what I was thinking," Nami frowned. "But, for some reason I feel uneasy about stopping."_

"_So, we leave Captain-san behind?"_

"_No, we can't do that." Nami sighed. "Oh, well. It can't be helped. We'll stop as soon as we spot an island." She stretched off and gave a yawn. Then she started towards the lounge to get herself a drink, but she stopped when something caught her eye. From afar, she could see a small dome shape in the middle of the ocean. _

_An island!_

"_LAND-HO!" she shouted as loudly as possible. "_Get up, everyone! We're changing course!_" _

"Yes, Nami-swaaan!_" a loved-up voice responded, followed by crashes and shouts, the sounds that signified the boys were getting up. Pleased, Nami smiled and calculated the distance. _

"_We should get there about nightfall," she said, squinting to see the tiny shape ahead._

"_If Captain-san doesn't come back today, we can just wait for him at that island," said Robin reassuringly. But, her expression changed slightly as the memory of the strange light flashed in her mind. "I wonder what that light was, though," she thought out loud. "I've never seen anything like it. I do hope Captain-san is alright."_

_Nami frowned. "That idiot. Where is he?"_

X x X x X x X x X

"Lynn, wake_ up!_"

Lynn turned in her sleep, frowning. She didn't want to wake up. The events the day before had tired her out. But, her best friend's shouts continued to ring in her ears, whether she liked it or not.

Finally, she let out an exasperated groan and sat up. "What?" she grumbled, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "It's Sunday for goodness sake, so stop acting like my mum." It was only then she realised she was the only person in the room. Her friend's voice came from downstairs.

"Lynn! It's already 12:30!"

She jumped out of bed straight away. 12:30? She didn't think it would be that late! She quickly changed out of her pajamas and slipped into a T-shirt and jeans. Then, she rushed downstairs to the kitchen where Miriam and Luffy sat, playing cards at the table.

"About time," smiled the blonde girl. "We've been waiting for you!"

"Want some breakfast?" Luffy flicked a thumb at a box of cereal and half a carton of milk. "We left some for you."

"Thanks," said Lynn, before bending down beside Miriam and whispering in her ear. "How much has he eaten? Be honest." Miriam glanced up at her friend and smiled innocently. "That doesn't work, Miriam. Spill."

Miriam sighed. "All right. He ate a hell of a lot. I almost had to tie him up before he ate the fridge as well."

"Oh, great. So, the fridge is basically empty, then." Lynn rolled her eyes. "Looks I'm going to have to go shopping again today." She glared at Luffy. "How do you eat so much and not gain any weight?"

Luffy shrugged.

Lynn walked over to the sink and picked up a bowl, in which she poured her cereal. "We've got a lot to do today to prepare for tomorrow," she announced. Both Miriam and Luffy put down their cards and listened. "First, after I quickly finish brea-Um… _brunch_, we'll go out and get more fridge supplies. Then…" She gave Luffy a quick look up and down. "We need to get this guy some new clothes. He can't go around school tomorrow wearing that; it's too eye catching. Maybe a polo-shirt or something will be more suitable."

Steady nodding from the small audience was the reply to her statement.

"After that, Miriam and I need to revise for the quiz so Luffy can watch a movie or something, alright?"

More nodding. Lynn smiled. "Glad we got that sorted." She poured milk into the bowl. "Now, let's get moving!"

X x X x X x X x X

"No, Luffy, you can't!" Lynn pulled tightly on the back of his shirt.

The dark haired boy pouted. It was the first time he'd seen something so fast and noisy, and all he wanted was to ride one of them.

"No," repeated Lynn firmly. "You can't just go and sit on someone's car."

Miriam laughed at the two. Luffy's childish acts could be quite amusing to watch.

Luffy, being the oldest and tallest of the trio, didn't act at all as mature as he should be. It was obvious Lynn was the most overpowering, even though she was the shortest, and she was having trouble keeping this curious boy from running wild. The modern world is very interesting to someone from an age of pirates, after all!

The three teenagers walked through town centre carrying bags of food, on their way home. Luffy pouted.

"But, they're so cool…"

"No," was the definite and final answer. Lynn wasn't usually a bossy or stern character, but there were reasons to her strictness. First of all, she definitely didn't want to stir up unwanted trouble, and secondly, they had been shopping all day and it was normal for her to snap at people when she was tired.

"Fine," huffed Luffy, walking off in a different direction.

"Hey, where are you going?" Miriam called after him.

"Toilet!" was the response. The girls laughed. For a moment they thought he was going to run away or something. The public toilet was just a small distance down the street.

"Okay, we'll wait here," Lynn shouted. "Don't get lost!"

"I won't! That's something Zoro would do!"

X x X x X x X x X

"_Ah_-CHOO_!" A thundering sneeze caused the green-haired swordsman to stir from his sleep. It was late afternoon and everyone aboard the Merry was doing their own thing. For Zoro, that meant a long snooze after his earlier workouts. _

"_Someone must be talking about you Zoro!" Usopp chuckled, glancing up from the his experiment. _

"_Who the hell in their rightful mind would want to talk about that dumbass marimo?" sneered Sanji, who leant against the door to the ship lounge, having a smoke._

"_Take your damn attitude and stick it up your ass, shitty cook," Zoro snarled and fell asleep before the blond chef could say anything else._

"_Honestly," said Nami, approaching from the other side of the ship. "Do you two do anything else apart from arguing?"_

"_Mellorine!" With a love-struck cry Sanji was immediately circling the navigator. "Would you like anything at all, Nami-swan?"_

"_Hmm... A glass of water would be nice," she said tiredly, rubbing her temples. "I'm getting a bit of a head ache."_

"_But, of course! I am gladly at your service! The worn-out Nami-swan is so beautiful!" Then he turned to Robin, who hadn't moved from her seat since morning. "And, you? Robin-chwan?"_

"_No, I'm fine, thanks," the archaeologist smiled, and Sanji disappeared into the kitchen leaving a trail of 'mellorine' cries. He was back seconds later, producing Nami's water with a flourish. _

"_Thank you," said Nami softly. She took a sip and let the cooling water clear her mind. _

"_Dinner will ready soon!" he announced and twirled his way back into the kitchen._

"_No sign of captain-san yet, huh?" Robin looked at Nami, who had gotten more and more stressed as the day progressed, partly because they were sailing captain-less, partly because the changing winds and dark clouds made her uneasy._

_Nami shook her head. _

"_I'm starting to think something might have happened..." she frowned._

"_Don't worry," said Usopp. "That guy is insanely strong; he can look after himself."_

"_Strong, yes, but not a lot of brain," Nami sighed. She looked up at the island - not far up ahead now after a day of sailing - and she could see that half the island was covered in forestation. That was good, as it meant they could dock near the forest and not alarm the citizens._

_"Right, guys," Nami announced loudly. "After dinner, we drop anchor and settle for an early night in. Tomorrow morning we can go to town and get supplies." There were murmurings of agreement throughout the ship._

"Nami-swaaan! Robin-chaaan!_" Sanji burst onto deck. "Dinner is served."_

_Chattering arose as the crew piled into the lounge for food, but as dinner progressed, each one of them could feel that the atmosphere was different; that something - or, in this case, someone - was missing. A certain someone, actually, who would usually cause havoc trying to steal everyone else's food and make everyone laugh with his ridiculous statements and table manners. Nobody said a word about it, but deep down they all knew it._

_They missed their captain like hell._

X x X x X x X x X

"Remind me again why he needs to be _my_ relative?" Lynn frowned at her friend whilst straightening her school polo-shirt.

Sunday had gone like a breeze and it was already Monday morning, the dreaded day they were going to take Luffy to see the horrors of school. She wasn't completely fond of the plan that she and Miriam came up with to cover up Luffy's identity.

"Well, you gotta admit, out of the two of us, he looks more like you," Miriam said, pushing her in front of a mirror.

Lynn stared in the mirror at both their reflections and sighed. It was true.

She looked at Miriam's long, dirty-blonde hair, deep blue eyes and fair complexion and then at her own medium length black hair and brown eyes.

'Oh, why me...?' she thought as she pulled on a pair of jeans.

Technically, the school _did _have a uniform code, just no one really followed it, and the teachers couldn't care less; as long as it was appropriate and not too wild, why couldn't the children just wear what they want?

Lynn sighed as she pulled a jacket over her bare arms. "I'm going to check on Luffy," she said, pulling open her bedroom door and walking down the carpeted hall.

Her house consisted of four bedrooms, but two of the rooms were currently being used as a guest room and a study. She could hear lots of noise coming from the guest room down the hall where Luffy was staying.

"What are you _doing_, Luffy?" she demanded, swinging the door wide open. Luffy stopped bouncing on the bed and jumped off.

"That bed is extremely bouncy!" he grinned. "I haven't slept in a proper bed in ages! Hammocks just aren't bouncy, you know."

Lynn looked him up and down. He was dressed in a dark blue polo shirt similar to her own and was wearing black trousers which she spent ages persuading him not to roll up the previous day. He looked ready to go! Just one thing was bothering her...

"Luffy," she said gently, knowing this would be hard for him, "could you maybe not wear the straw hat today?"

Luffy's eyes widened at the suggestion. He took it off his head and looked at it longingly. Lynn felt sorry for him, as she knew how much the hat meant to him. She thought over it and said, "Fine, why don't you just strap it round your neck, but just not wear it on your head?" Luffy's face lit up. "I'm sure it'll work out somehow."

"Great!" he grinned and took the thin strap on the hat which Nami had sewn on for him beforehand and hung it around his neck. "Now, let's go!"

Lynn laughed. The hat was a strange touch to his current outfit, but at least it wasn't really as eye-catching. "A word of warning though, Luffy," she told him sternly. "Remember to follow these rules. One, do not mention to anyone along the lines of pirates, treasure, the Grand Line, and so on. Two, don't use your rubber powers in front of anyone. In fact, don't use them at all. Three, don't touch everything you see. And, four, when we're introducing you, don't say a word."

She noticed Luffy had nodded after everything she said, and she smiled. "Right, then! We can go!"

They made their way down stairs and after a quick breakfast, stopped at the front door to put on shoes.

That's when something struck her. Lynn turned to Luffy.

"One more thing," she said, only just remembering this important information. "Don't pick the lumps sticking on the undersides of tables, chairs or railings. They're not mysterious free sweets."

Luffy nodded yet again, and, with that, the three of them step out onto the brightly shone street.

X x X x X x X x X

They arrived at school early so they could speak to their form tutor. Miss Rose was sitting in the classroom marking some work when the trio burst into the classroom. Surprised, the brown haired woman removed her glasses and placed down her pen.

"Can I help you?" she asked, noticing Luffy's unfamiliar face. "You're pretty early."

"Umm... well..." Lynn had some trouble getting her words out. Miss Rose was one of the nicest people she'd ever met and usually had no problem confiding in her for problems, but today...

"We have something we'd like your permission for, miss," said Miriam, nudging her friend in the ribs. Miss Rose glanced at the both of them.

"Well... um... I've got this distant relative from... America..." said Lynn, reciting the words they had practiced yesterday. "And, he's never been to school before..."

"Never been to school?" Miss Rose seemed surprised.

"Oh, well..." Lynn quickly improvised. "He's from Texas and worked on a farm. Note the straw hat." She nodded her head towards Luffy's hat. Miss Rose relaxed slightly and Lynn followed the script again. "His parents recently died so he's coming to stay with us until his fostering procedures are complete."

"Oh, you poor thing!" Miss Rose's expression was filled with pity. "Your parents passed away! I'm so sorry!" Luffy, clueless of what's going on since the girls hadn't told him, just grinned in response.

"And," Lynn continued, "my parents are away on a business trip so we can't leave him home on his own. And, so, we were wondering if you could write a note allowing him to sit with us in lessons. I don't think he could do the work, though, since he hasn't had a proper education."

"Yes, yes, no problem," agreed Miss Rose straight away. "How old is he?"

"He's sixteen, just like us," said Miriam. That was a lie, because he was actually a year older.

Miss Rose nodded. "I'll write you a note to your class teachers for registration and introduce him to the class."

"Oh, that's fine; you really don't need to..."

"Thank you for your help, Miss Rose," Miriam cut Lynn off. "We'll see you in registration."

And, with that she shoved both Lynn and Luffy out of the room.

"Why did you cut me off?" Lynn protested. "She's going to introduce him to the class!"

"She might as well," shrugged Miriam. "Then we won't have this situation where everyone crowds around us asking about him, giving him the chance of letting something slip."

Lynn lowered her head in defeat. "My life is over..."

X x X x X x X x X

"Y11, attention, please!" Miss Rose's voice cut short the chattering and laughter in the form room. "We have a new pupil joining us today!" She looked straight at Luffy.

Lynn stood up, hauling him with her to the front of the room. Whispering voices echoed in her ear as she walked him up the side of the isle. "His name is..." Miss Rose paused and leant over to the two teenagers. "What's your name?" she whispered.

"Monkey D. Luffy," Luffy announced. Giggles aroused from the class room. Lynn could make out some girls' whispers.

"My, he's rather cute!"

"I'll say!"

"That's such an exotic name!"

"I know! It's so hot!

Lynn shifted on her feet. "You can just call him Luffy."

Miss Rose beamed. "Luffy is a distant relative of Lynn," she introduced. "He's just arrived from Texas, in America. This is the first time he's been in a school, so, please, everyone, give him a warm welcome!"

Luffy grinned at the enthusiastic claps. "Nice to meet you!" Quite a few girls in the class squealed when he spoke.

However, not everyone was so keen.

"Ha! What an idiot," a voice snorted from the back of the room. Lots of people turn in their seat but most don't, as it was obvious it them who it was. Cain sat at the very latest desk with his feet up on his friend's chair. Luffy turned to look at him.

He was broad and of a sturdy build and stared at Luffy with his small, dark eyes. He had no hair on his shiny scalp, which gave him a dangerous feeling. "Hey, you," he called up to the front of class. "What does the 'D' stand for? 'Dork'?"

His mates laughed.

"That's not nice," frowned Miss Rose. Luffy only smirked at the comment.

"And, what's with the gay hat?" Cain wasn't giving up. Luffy's smile faded at that point. He gazed at the tough looking boy, who stared back triumphantly. "What's wrong? Upset because I insulted your precious hat? Whatcha gonna do? Go crying back to your 'mommy'?"

"That's quite enough!" Miss Rose shouted. "Not another word from you, hear me?" She turned to Luffy, who continued to glare at him. "I'm sorry. Ignore him, will you hon'?"

Luffy didn't reply. Cain smirked at the back of the room, knowing he had hit a soft spot. Lynn and Luffy returned to their seats as Miss Rose gave Cain a meaningful look, which he rolled his eyes at.

"You okay?" Lynn whispered to Luffy as they sat down.

"I don't like him," he said simply.

"That jerk, no one does." Lynn glared over at Cain, who still smirked away.

"You know," said Luffy, pulling up his hat and placing it on his head, "if I hadn't promised not to use my powers today," he pulled it down until it covered his eyes, "I would have punched that smirk off his face from the front of the class." He sighed and slid down his seat slightly as Miss Rose began to make some announcements.

X x X x X x X x X

"So '_x_' is equal to...?" Mr. Brown looked at Lynn.

"Um... minus four," she answered.

Mr. Brown smiled as he wrote her correct answer on the white board under the equation.

She looked the clock. Only fifteen minutes till the end of the lesson. Then she gazed over at Luffy, who was now asleep, his straw hat covering his face and muffling his soft snores. She smiled and continued with her work.

The maths lesson had gone quite fast. Lynn wasn't a super swot, but she was quite intelligent and enjoyed doing some sums. She was glad she was clever, though, because Cain and his mates weren't so smart, so for most of her lessons they were in different classes.

Miriam groaned at her maths book. She had made a mistake. Again. She usually sat beside Lynn, allowing her to get necessary help from her friend but today was sitting on the other side of Luffy. It was her idea to keep Luffy sandwiched between them by pulling up another desk as opposed to the usual twin desks in order to keep things under control. She regretted it now, though, as she found it was a disadvantage to her.

_RING RING._

The bell rang for the start of break and Miriam dropped her pen in relief.

Luffy woke up with a start on hearing the piercing ringing.

"That's a harsh way of waking someone up," muttered Luffy, rubbing his eyes, but then he paused. "But, I prefer it to being chucked off the ship by Nami. She knows I can't swim!"

Both Lynn and Miriam laughed. "I know algebra is boring but you can't just sleep through the whole lesson," Miriam said.

"Did you have a nice nap, then, Mr. Luffy?" Mr. Brown leant over his desk and raised an eyebrow at him. Luffy yawned.

"Yes, I did, thank you."

Mr. Brown laughed as both girls nudged him from each side. "Don't worry; I know this is too hard for you since you've never been to school, so as long as you don't disrupt the lesson, you can sleep all you want!" Luffy grinned in response and Mr. Brown laughed again. "My, you're a strange one!"

"Thank you, Mr. Brown," smiled Lynn as she stood up, hauling Luffy with her. "Have a nice break!" Mr. Brown waved them off and they exited the maths room, carrying their books.

"I don't understand why we have to keep changing rooms," said Luffy, looking around the corridor.

"Neither do I!" Lynn laughed as they make their way back to their form room to put away books in to their lockers. As they entered the room, however, a small group of girls, including her friend Jess, start towards them.

"Look, look!" one of them pointed. "That's him! I told you he was really cute!"

Luffy blinked in surprise.

"Wow! He really is!" They swarmed over and surrounded him. "What's your name?"

"Er... Luffy," he answered uncertainly. The boys on the other side of the class room gave a jealous glance.

"It's so exotic, isn't it?"

"Do you like England?"

"What's Texas like?"

"You straw hat is so cool!"

Luffy smiled at the last comment.

"He smiled at me!"

"No, he smiled at _me_!"

"He's even cuter when he smiles!"

"Oh, wow! I want him in our form!"

Luffy looked over at Lynn and Miriam with an expression that read, _'I'm scared! Save me!' _

"Looks like his fans aren't going to leave him alone," Lynn laughed. "He's quite popular."

"…and he's getting freaked out," Miriam observed them with amusement.

Luffy sent another SOS signal. Lynn decided to help him out and began to walk over but was shoved out of the way as a tall, bulky figure entered the room.

"What's so great about a freak with a hideous hat?" Cain sneered, towering over Luffy. Compared to him, Luffy was somewhat small. The girls began to scatter in fear.

"Shut up, you jerk!" said Lynn, coming to his defence. No one else spoke, but it was obvious everyone agreed with her. Apart from Cain, that is.

"Oh." Cain noticed the petite girl behind him and sneered even more. "I'm sorry, did you say something?" He began to walk towards her threateningly. She started to cower slightly in his massive shadow.

"Oi, baldy, don't bring others into this." Luffy's voice caused Cain to grit his teeth in anger.

"Who do you think you're calling 'baldy'!" he screamed at him as he spun around.

"You," came the simple answer. Cain boiled over with fury as others in the room began to snigger. He grabbed Luffy by the front of his polo shirt.

"You think you're so great, eh? What's so great about you and your damn straw hat?"

Luffy shoved his hand away. "What's so great about yourself? You don't even have any hair." Lynn couldn't help but give a giggle, which she muffled behind her hand.

"I swear," Cain growled, cracking his knuckles, "I'm going to beat the hell out of you if you come out with anymore of those wise-cracks."

"I was being serious the whole time." Some snorts of laughter arouse in the classroom.

"ARH!" With a furious grunt, Cain threw a punch which Luffy easily dodged. Cain fell over, unable to control his enormous weight. Luffy burst out laughing.

"You're rather funny!"

"You got lucky that time!" Cain screamed. "I'm going to kill you!"

Luffy just laughed again.

"You! Cain! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Mr. Nelson, the head teacher, stood at the doorway, scowling at the fuming teenager. "Don't you dare start hitting people in school." He glanced over at Luffy who, in his eyes, was the victim. "Are you alright, son?"

Luffy just smiled and nodded. The bell began to ring for the start of lessons and Cain reluctantly followed him out of the room.

"This isn't over…" he growled to Luffy as he disappeared from sight. A moment of silence fell over the room before everyone burst into laughter.

"Good one, Luffy!" a boy shouted from across the room. "It's been a while since someone stood up to that jerk!"

"You sure gave him a run for his money!"

"Oh, wow you're so brave!" a girl squealed.

"He said he's going to get you back. I'm scared," whimpered another.

Luffy walked over to Lynn and Miriam, still grinning. "I thought you said you didn't like him?" asked Lynn.

Luffy shrugged, as if he didn't know what she was talking about. "Don't worry! He's just talk. He couldn't hurt me even if he tried, anyway!"

Lynn knew this was true, but she felt uneasy. Cain usually stuck to just verbal abuse, but when someone really pissed him off, he could get mean. Sure, he couldn't beat Luffy in combat, but she knew Cain didn't play by the rules.

"Oh, well," she thought with a smile. "Luffy doesn't even worry, why should I? It'll work out somehow!"

X x X x X x X x X

When lunchtime came around, both Lynn and Miriam dreaded taking Luffy into the cafeteria. Lynn gave Luffy a strict lecture about what he absolutely should _not_ do before leading him up to queue.

Luffy sniffed the aroma of food in the air and almost started drooling.

"Luffy, remember what I said?" Lynn asked him for the hundredth time.

"Uh-huh," nodded Luffy. "Don't snatch other peoples' food, don't scoff it like a pig, don't ask for more food than you're allowed and don't eat the juice carton."

'Looks like he remembered everything,' thought Lynn. 'But, will he actually do it?' She doubted it. But, there wasn't any turning back, as it was their turn to be served.

She walked forward.

"Can I have lasagna, please," Lynn said to the dinner lady. "And, can he have the same?" She flicked a thumb at Luffy, who was in the queue behind her.

The dinner lady smiled and produced two servings on separate plates. "Vegetables?"

"None for me, but everything for him, please." Lynn then leant in and whispered. "He's an absolute pig! Can you give him a tiny bit extra?"

The dinner lady laughed at Luffy, whose tongue was literally hanging from his mouth. "Of course! He's a new kid, isn't he? Your friend?"

"Distant relative," she said and took her plate and cutlery from the amused woman. Luffy took his plate, too, and managed to copy Lynn's action of putting it on his tray without spilling the overfilled contents. Lynn then took pieces of fruit for both of them.

"Oh, _yum!_" he drooled, and Lynn poked him before he could start digging in on the spot.

They made their way into the bustling dining hall and Lynn makes a quick scan before noticing Miriam waving.

"Here!" she called over the noisy chattering. "I saved you two seats!"

Walking over, Lynn saw the table was crowded with girls, at least six or seven of them. To specific, the Luffy admirers.

"Oh, boy," she muttered, setting her tray down. "You sure this is a good idea?"

Miriam shrugged. "It's not like I could just tell them to go away."

Lynn suddenly realised the table had fallen silent. Everyone was watching Luffy scoff down his food with incredible speed. She noticed Luffy wasn't as messy as normal, which was great. It meant he'd actually listened to what she said! The silence continued as he finished the last of his food and wiped his mouth on a napkin lying on his tray; also surprising, as he usually just used his arm or didn't wipe altogether.

"Seconds?" Luffy looked at Lynn hopefully. Lynn glanced awkwardly at everyone else on the table. Some had their jaws hanging open and some had an expression torn between disgust and amusement.

"Here, you can have this. I'm not hungry," a blonde girl, Faye, from the other side of the table broke the silence and shoved her tray towards him. The food hadn't been touched.

"Oooh!" Luffy cried, gladly taking it. "Thank you!" He began stuffing his face again as they all burst into laughter.

"Ha! I've never seen someone at so fast or so much before!"

"So this is what an American is like!"

"This guy is really something!"

"Yeah, he's so unique!"

Lynn rolled her eyes, smiling. At least they weren't appalled by his behaviour! Slightly more at ease, she tucked into her lunch before Luffy could finish and steal hers.

X x X x X x X x X

Time passed, and it had been a while since the end of lunch. The bell for the end of lessons rang out.

"I totally failed that test!" groaned Lynn, walking out of the history room with her head in her hands.

"So have I..." Miriam mumbled following her. Only Luffy was smiling.

"That was a great nap!" he grinned. "It was very quiet!"

"You don't say..." grumbled Lynn. "We had a test."

"Who's Hitler, by the way?" asked Luffy curiously. He had remembered the name from looking over at Lynn's test paper.

"Oh, he's a grumpy old fart with a funny moustache who likes killing Jews," said Lynn.

Luffy laughed. "He sounds funny! I want him on our crew!"

Lynn sniggered at how ridiculous that sounded. "You can't! And, that's for two reasons! One, he's absolutely evil, and two, he's dead!"

Luffy looked disappointed, and Lynn laughed. That had certainly cheered her up after that horrid test. She didn't know half the answers of the sheet so had just scribbled down random answers. She didn't really care if she failed, since history was never her best subject anyway.

Checking her planner, Lynn slid her finger down her timetable. "Next, we have PE," she said, shutting it.

"What's a PE?" asked Luffy.

"Physical education," answered Lynn. "Like sports and stuff."

Luffy beamed. "Sounds fun!"

Lynn hesitated. She wasn't sure whether it was safe for Luffy to take part in PE. He could probably knock someone out without knowing. And, the worst thing was, this was the only lesson which Cain was in her class!

"What are we doing today?" she whispered to Miriam.

"I think it's trampolining."

Lynn groaned. "Oh, great."

Luffy on a trampoline? That, for some reason, did not sound good…

X x X x X x X x X

Lynn found some spare PE kit in the lost and found box for Luffy, and she shoved him into the boy's changing room to get changed. Although confused as to why, Luffy did as he was told and emerged, changed, a while later, only to find Lynn and Miriam had disappeared.

"Huh?" Luffy scratched his head. "Where did they go?" He noticed a door next to him and decided to check in there. "Oi, Lynn, are you in here?"

He stopped when he pushed open the doors. And, he stared. The group of half dressed girls stared back.

"AAAARGH!" someone screamed. "Pervert!"

Luffy had a feeling that he wasn't really welcome. Quickly exiting again, he found himself face to face with Lynn, who stood outside, now fully changed into her gym kit.

She didn't look all that happy.

"What the hell were you doing in the girls' changing room?" she demanded. Miriam sniggered behind her.

"Looking for you," he answered innocently. "Where did you go?"

"You took blooming ages to get changed, so we nipped to the loo! That illegal?"

He shrugged. "Don't think so…"

Sighing heavily, Lynn walked into the changing room, apologised to the startled girls, and came back out scowling. Then, she dragged him into the hall where the PE lesson took place. It was huge, at least ten meters tall, and Luffy found the fact that his voice echoed in the giant room very amusing.

"Helloooo!" he said loudly, listening for his echo, and was given a shove by Lynn.

"Stop being a dimwit," she said. Most of the class were already there and had set out the trampolines, ready to go. Mr. Stephens, the PE teacher approached them.

"Hello, there. You're new, aren't you?" He smiled at Luffy. After Lynn introduced him and handed over the note which Miss Rose had written for them, Mr. Stephens gave his permission. "Take care of him, okay?" he said to Lynn as Luffy scampered over to the nearest trampoline. Lynn nodded and followed him. She noticed, though, that Luffy had happened to pick the trampoline that Cain stood beside. She didn't like it, but there was nothing she could do.

Luffy clambered onto the trampoline and tried a small bounce. The springy mat gave him a lot of lift, and he found himself enjoying it. But, he was practically bouncing from one side to the other. The spotters around the trampoline laughed, and so did Mr. Stephens.

"Try to stay in the centre when you bounce," he pointed out, and Luffy nodded. He tried but just continued to bounce all over the place.

As soon as Mr. Stephens's attention shifted to another trampoline, Cain seized the moment and smirked. He took one of the major springs on Luffy's trampoline and unhooked it from the mat. The mat flicked up fiercely, the impact throwing Luffy high up into the air.

Everyone gasped. Luffy was confused and so grabbed onto the nearest thing he could find... which was the bars of lighting on the ceiling. Then, once he had hold of one, he flipped himself over onto a sitting position on it and looked down onto the watchers, who gawped up at him with their mouths open.

"Cool!" he exclaimed, not in the least worried.

"Stay calm!" shouted Mr. Stephens, freaking out himself. "We'll help you get down from there!"

"Down?" Luffy looked at Lynn. "Should I come down?"

Before Lynn could shout 'NO!' he stood up and crouched. It was a long way down, but he'd fallen from higher places before. He grinned.

"Right, I'm coming!" he called and jumped, to the horrors of the class and teacher. He fell rapidly and landed on the gym floor on his feet, sending up a huge cloud of dust with the impact. "Sorry about that!" he grinned to the teacher, and on seeing Luffy unhurt for some absurd reason, the poor man collapsed, both relieved and terrified.

Nobody rushed to save the unconscious teacher, for they were all too engaged gawping at this phenomenal survival.

Lynn groaned and covered her eyes. "How the hell am I going to explain this…?"

* * *

Next time: Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's Zoro falling from the sky! Also, Lynn runs into an old enemy…

R&R please, and I'll see you soon!


	4. Suspicions and Doubt

Disclaimer: I don't own one piece folks, and… _*Zoro walks past*_

SS: _*stares bewildered*_

Zoro: where's 'the link between worlds' story? I'm kind of lost.

SS: this is the disclaimer section, the story's down there _*points*_

Zoro: thanks _*walks in the opposite direction*_

SS: ...Wtf...

(Oh yeah, some of you left comments (thank you for commenting, speaking of which ^^) asking why Luffy wasn't worried about his crew, and there are two reasons for that. 1. _He_ was the one sent out to retrieve the log pose, and so really, none of the others are in danger, and he knows it. 2. All the new things distracted him too much for him to be worrying ^_^ but, that's kind of a petty excuse isn't it? Maybe I made him a little _too_ calm… sorry about that!

**

* * *

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Chapter 4 – suspicions and doubt

When the bell rang for the end of the day, Lynn didn't know how glad she was. The rest of that P.E lesson was chaos. Everyone crowded around Luffy asking how he jumped from so high and didn't get hurt, Mr. Stephens had fainted, and Lynn had a hard time coming up with a convincing cover-up. Her excuse was that he'd been doing aerobics since he was little, and had lots of skill. Her petty explanation didn't even convince herself, but it seemed to please everyone else.

Straight after school, Lynn grabbed her bag and along with Miriam, dragged Luffy out of the school quickly to avoid being stalked by Luffy's fan club, who were now even more obsessed after knowing about his amazing abilities. Lynn took them to an empty field on the hill, clear of civilisation. She finally felt like she could relax after a long day.

"You sure caused a lot of commotion," Lynn laughed. "I knew it was a bad idea taking you to school!"

Luffy just grinned, and Lynn didn't like the looks of that. "Give it a rest already."

"You both need a rest," said Miriam, opening her bag. "Look what I brought!" she fished out a pack of cards and winked. "We should do something more peaceful after a busy day!"

Luffy and Lynn looked at each other, laughed, and nodded.

* * *

"_Are we all set?" Nami asked her crew-mates. "Have we got everything we need?"_

_Zoro, Sanji and Usopp nodded. They stood in the busy town street after a long day of shopping for supplies, only Chopper and Robin were still guarding their ship. Everyone was pretty tired._

"_Food supplies?"_

_Sanji held up a huge bulging sack. "Check."_

"_Ship mending equipment?" _

_Usopp held up his newly stocked up tool box. "Check."_

"_One direction-clueless swordsman?" _

"_Oi."_

_Nami clapped her hands together. "Right, looks like we're all good, you guys can go back to the ship now."_

_Usopp tilted his head. "You're not coming? Where are you going?"_

"_Oh, I've just got something I need to do…" she smiled innocentl., "I'll meet you on the ship later!" and with that, she ran off._

_The guys weren't sure what she was planning, but they shrugged it off and headed towards the ship; apart from Zoro. He was sure Nami was up to no good._

_Nami smiled to herself as she entered the forest off the side of town._

"_Now where is that treasure…?" she muttered, fishing a map from her pocket. She had found it earlier that day when she ran into bunch of random bandits in the pub, and the map had caught her eye hanging out of the king bandit's pocket. So she stole it. Well, she didn't like calling it stealing; more like temporarily borrowing it… without permission…_

"_I knew it," said a voice behind her. Nami swerved around and saw Zoro leaning against a tree. He had followed her. She quickly hid the map behind her back, but Zoro just snorted, "You can quite the act now, I've already seen it."_

_Nami scowled. "I'm not splitting the treasure, if that's what you want."_

"_Why are you so damn obsessed with money?" Zoro rolled his eyes. "We've got loads of gold from Sky Island." _

_Nami pouted. "But that's for mending the Merry, we agreed."_

_Zoro suddenly had an idea and he grinned. Nami didn't like the looks of it. "How about," he suggested, a sneaky look in his eyes. "If I help you find this treasure, and don't tell the others, you stop bugging me about my debts."_

_Nami frowned, weighed up the pros and cons, and although disappointed she won't be able to further torment Zoro over his debt to her, decided she wanted this treasure more. Agreeing with a hand shake they set off to search for the treasure._

_A good half hour later of treading through the forest with Zoro hacking down trees as they walked to clear the way, Nami marked the spot where she was sure was the X-mark on the map. It wasn't far up ahead. She looked over at Zoro, following her, clueless, and smirked. She had thought of a way to keep the treasure, and keep Zoro's debt at the same time. _

"_Let's go back Zoro," she sighed, pretending to be disappointed. "There's no treasure here. I bet it's a fake map."_

"_WHAT?" he demanded. "So you made us wonder around like headless chickens for no reason?"_

_Nami faked a hurt expression. "It wasn't my fault."_

"_Whatever," said Zoro rolling his eyes. "I guess we'd better go back then. Thanks a lot for wasting my time." He started off, and Nami smirked, moving onto stage two of her plan. She covered her stomach with her hands and groaned._

"_I need a moment, please," she said to him, squirming in discomfort. "Go on back without me." _

"_What? Don't tell me…" Nami nodded slowly and Zoro wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "Alright, hurry up then,"_

"_The ships about 10 minutes walk that way," Nami pointed the right direction for him and shoved him forwards towards. "Now GO."_

"_Women…" Zoro muttered in annoyance, and set off, but he only walked two steps along the right track before heading dreadfully off course. Nami didn't notice this, however, as she was already racing towards her treasure._

_10 minutes later, Zoro realised something was wrong. "Funny," he thought, scratching his head. "I should be at the Merry by now." What he didn't realise was that he was actually back where he started. Confused slightly, he looked around while he walked, and not paying attention to the road, didn't see the hole of light up ahead…_

_Meanwhile, Nami had managed to dig up her treasure, and gasped in delight at what was in the small chest that she found. _

"_I'm rich!" she cried, scooping handfuls of the different golden accessories that glistened with magnificence. Quickly, she got out a prepared sack strapped to her belt, and filled it up. Then, kicking the empty old box to the side, she stood up and headed back to the ship, grinning widely._

"_Gold, gold, I love gold…" she sang to herself as she walked, so engaged in thought of how to spend her money, that she failed to notice the circle of light that shimmered on the ground; until she stepped directly into it, that is._

"_What the…?" she tried to retract her foot, but it was too late. She fell right in. _

* * *

"I win!" yelled Lynn triumphantly, throwing her hands into the air. "Fifth time in a row!"

"Damn, not fair," Luffy grumbled. "Why do you get all the good cards?" Lynn stuck out her tongue at him and he pulled a face back.

"You're just jealous!" Lynn laughed mockingly, and Luffy moped. Miriam smiled at the two, gathering and reshuffling the scattered cards.

A yell from above causes all three of them to look up. In the blink of an eye, something fell heavily from the sky and landed on the ground in front of them, sending up a cloud of dust. Lynn and Miriam gasped in shock as the figure groaned. It was rather like a scene out of a horror movie, where the dead is revived and starting to rise from their coffins…

"Wow, where am I?" the figure grumbled, ruffling his short green hair and straightening the three sheathed katana strapped to his side. Both Luffy and Lynn recognised him at the same time.

"Zoro!" they shouted in unison, pointing in his direction. The swordsman looked up and his eyes widened.

"Luffy! What the hell are you doing here?"

Lynn looked up at the sky. She couldn't see a portal through the thick clouds but was sure there must be one up there. She expected a shard of wood to fall, but there was none in sight.

"Boy, am I glad to see you!" Luffy got up rushed over. "We're stuck here!" he grinned and stuck out a hand.

"And why do you look so happy about that?" he muttered, grabbing Luffy's hand and allowing himself to be pulled up.

"This place is cool! You get food delivered to your door and everything!"

"Food. That's all you care about. And to think we're worrying our asses off about you."

"I was worried too."

Lynn rolled her eyes. "No you weren't, you were too busy scoffing your face."

"But the others _are_ safe, right?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah, sure. We've docked on an island and we're just waiting for you."

Luffy smiled on hearing this. Zoro glanced at the raven haired girl who stood behind him. "Who are you?" before Lynn could answer, a long scream shocked all four of them. From the sky, a figure fell exactly from where Zoro did and sent up another cloud of dust from the impact of her fall. Nami sat up and groaned groggily. She realised she wasn't hurt from that scarily high fall. Feeling the bag of gold still in her hands, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh," she muttered gently. "I landed on something soft,"

"That would be me." Came an angry growl from under her. "Get off me you bitch."

Nami jumped off and looked at her 'cushion'.

"Zoro!" she cried in surprise, "what are you doing here?"

He scowled at her and got up, brushing himself off. "How would I know? On my way back to the ship, and I fell into a weird hole."

Nami blinked. So he fell into the strange light too? "But that was nowhere near the ship!"

Zoro shrugged. "I don't know, maybe I got a little lost."

She threw a mean punch straight at his face, knocking him over. "How the hell could you get lost when I pointed you in the right direction?"

"Ouch, that hurt you stupid bitch," snarled Zoro, rubbing the bump on his head from where she punched him. "They all looked the same to me."

Lynn sniggered. "In case you didn't know," she whispered to Miriam. "This guy has as much sense of direction as a dead fish,"

"Oi."

Luffy blinked. "Hey! It's you!" he grinned happily on seeing his navigator.

Nami turned and her eyes widened. "Luffy!" then her surprise turned into anger and she punched_ him_, too. "What the hell are _you _doing here? You know how worried we were?"

As Nami snapped and growled at her two comrades, Lynn noticed a small shard of wood lying on the ground beside her. She smiled and bent down to pick it up. She knew there must be a piece, and she was right! Placing the new-found piece together with her gate pendant, she let them merge together. That's 3 down, and god-knows-how-many-more to go. Lynn looked up at Nami, still nagging away; demanding answers from Luffy. Sighing, she dropped her pendant back down her polo shirt, and stepped forward.

"Chill Nami," Lynn said. "It wasn't his fault."

Nami looked up and for the first time noticed Lynn and Miriam. "Who are_ you_?" and after a small pause, she added. "And how do you know my name?"

"Yeah and why did you know mine's?" Zoro added.

Luffy thought for a moment. "You know, come to think of it, you knew _my_ name too."

All three of them looked at Lynn.

"How do you know us?" asked Nami suspiciously.

"You guys are famous!" said Lynn. "Of course I know you."

"Wow! We're famous?" Luffy's eyes lit up.

Nami frowned. "Don't believe you. _Them_ two might have bounties, but _I_ don't. And if we're that famous, why doesn't _she_ know us?" she motioned to Miriam who had a confused expression on her face on seeing the two new strangers. Putting two and two together, though, she figured that they might have fallen through a portal.

Miriam shrugged. "Because I've never seen 'One Piece'."

They stared at her blankly. Lynn sighed and tried to explain as best as she could, even showing them her gate pendant.

"What? We aren't real?" Luffy cried after she finished talking. Nami just laughed.

"Look, missy, we're real, and you can't convince me with a mere piece of wood. We were born and we go through the hardships of life. We aren't just fictional characters."

Lynn shrugged. "I don't know, we probably live in separate dimensions or something."

"Then how do you know us?"

Lynn shrugged helplessly again. "I really can't explain. I just do."

"Nami, stop questioning her," Luffy came to Lynn's defence. "She's not a bad person."

"How would you know, dimwit?" Nami demanded. "She could be just trying to get to our gold."

"No, that's something _you_ would do." Zoro muttered under his breath. Nami gave him a dirty look.

"You have gold?" Lynn's eyes lit up. She isn't usually a treasure hungry person, but after a few days trying to cope with Luffy's appetite, she was skint and desperate for money. Nami took this the wrong way.

"See?" she pointed accusingly at Lynn. "She's just using you to get money."

"No I'm not," Lynn protested. "I just want money so I can feed this guy." She nodded towards Luffy, who grinned in response.

"It's true," Miriam added. "She's been busy looking after Luffy these few days and she's running out of money."

"Yeah, like I believe that." Snorted Nami.

Zoro looked at the bag in Nami's hands. "So you _did_ find treasure."

"But no credit goes to you, as you didn't help me dig it up," she declared triumphantly, gaining a vicious growl from him on being deceived. Nami noticed Lynn also staring at the bag, and hid it behind her back.

"Come on, please?" Lynn begged. "Share some with me or soon I won't be able to afford anymore food!" Nami turned her head away and Lynn sighed, dejected.

On hearing about food, Luffy's stomach rumbled. He turned to Lynn and looked at her hopefully.

Lynn glanced at her watch. It was 5 o'clock. Slightly too early, but Lynn didn't really care. She was starving too, after a long day at school. "Let's eat then," she said. "Why don't we all to a restaurant or something?"

Luffy's face lit up and Nami scowled at his response. She didn't trust this girl. She was almost sure she was just trying to take over her treasure. "No, thank you. Since _we're_ here now, even if we can't get back, we can take care of Luffy. We don't need you or your food anymore."

Lynn felt slightly hurt at her comment, but Miriam came to her defence. "You don't know much about this place, and I can tell you it's different from where _you_ came from. And you don't even have any of our currency."

Nami hated to admit it, but she was right. She could see some of the town from where she stood, and it looked quite different from anything she's seen before. She glowered at them. "Fine, we'll listen to you for now, but don't try anything funny."

"Look, I'll treat the meal today, so are you two coming?" asked Lynn.

Zoro shrugged, but it was in agreement. He was kind of hungry too. Nami had no choice. She couldn't leave Zoro and Luffy with the two suspicious girls.

"Oh yes, one more thing," Lynn said, looking down at Zoro's katana. "You might want to leave them behind."

He put an arm over his katana protectively and frowned. "Why?"

Lynn sighed. It was normal for him to have this response. "Our laws are different from yours', and if you take them into pubic, you're going to cause trouble. And I mean the police are going to come after you."

"How do we know your telling the truth?" Nami narrowed her eyes. "You might have set a trap for us and are trying to make us defenceless."

"Why would I do that? I'm just trying not to get us arrested!" argued Lynn. "Besides, you've still got_ him_." She nodded towards Luffy, who was getting impatient waiting to go.

Zoro began to protest, but he had a feeling she was right. After all, they didn't know much about this place. He didn't particularly want to cause too much trouble. Mumbling his discontent, he stuffed his katana under a bush and covered them with earth and leaves. Then he walked back to the group, rolling his eyes.

"If anything happens to them..." he threatened.

Lynn smiled a smile of reassurance. "Don't worry. We'll come straight back to collect them after dinner, ok?"

He didn't like it, but he agreed with a nod, much to Nami's annoyance. In her opinion, Lynn had just won over another member of their crew.

"Right, let's go!" Lynn led the way, followed by Luffy, Miriam, Zoro, and finally a reluctant Nami. Making their way down the road to the town centre, Lynn didn't say a word to anyone. She was rather disturbed by what Nami had said. She was right. They had no reason to trust her, and since Nami and Zoro were here now, Luffy had no reason to stay with her anymore. The thought made her feel strangely sad.

Arriving at the town a few minutes later, Luffy, Zoro and even Nami widened their eyes at what they saw; lit up signs and bill boards, fancy looking shops and some strange, machine-like holes in the walls of buildings. They had to admit it was quite amazing and interesting. As they walked, Zoro noticed no one else was carrying weapons of any sort, and began to think maybe Lynn was right. Half way down the busy street, Nami saw a restaurant that caught her eye. It was very posh and looked extremely luxurious. She stopped.

"Why don't we eat here?" she said.

"You've got an eye for quality..." Lynn muttered, looking at the sign. It was one of the most expensive restaurants in town, and somehow, she felt that Nami knew this.

"WOW!" Luffy cried in excitement. "This place looks great! I've decided! We're eating here!"

Lynn checked her purse. She had a twenty pound note and about £50 left from the money her mother had given her. That wasn't enough. If they were to eat here, not only would she be completely out of money, but she has to use up all her savings, too. But looking at everyone's expressions, especially Luffy's, she knew there was no way to back out. Giving a nod, she followed the enthusiastic bunch into the restaurant, sighing.

"I hate Mondays…"

* * *

"Aah! That was great!" Luffy patted his full stomach, grinning. Zoro smirked in agreement and Nami smiled, as she had to admit that the meal was fantastic. Looking over at poor Lynn, frowning down at her empty wallet, she felt a somewhat feeling of sympathy for her. Maybe the girl wasn't as bad as she thought.

"Right, let go back for my katana now." Said Zoro, standing up. "Thanks for the meal, by the way!"

Lynn smiled a forced smile. "Yeah," she thought. "A meal that cost a bloody fortune." But at least everyone was happy.

Miriam put an arm around her in sympathy. Neither she, nor Lynn had eaten much, in order to save some money, but it didn't really save much in the end anyway. "Don't worry," Miriam whispered to her. "That Nami girl has some gold we could exchange for money. Maybe she'll give us some if we ask again nicely."

Nami overheard this, and she scowled in response. Maybe they _were_ just after her money.

"Come on." Luffy got up too. "Let's go."

Nodding, the rest of them stood and they all made their way to the exit of the restaurant and started back to the empty field. Lynn looked at Zoro whilst they walked. There was a question she'd been dying to ask for ages, but daren't.

"What is it?" Zoro grunted, uncomfortable with the staring.

Lynn grinned sheepishly and giggled. "Well… I was wondering…" she walked up and ruffled his hair. "Is this really green? Or did you dye it?"

Zoro growled, and Lynn jumped back laughing. "Yeah, it's my natural colour, got a problem with that"

Lynn sniggered. "Nope! Just wondering!"

"Rude little twerp," he muttered, whilst everyone else laughed.

"So, where are you guys going to go after this?" Lynn asked, turning to face the three pirates.

They shrugged. "Aren't we coming back to your house?" said Luffy, putting his hat onto his head.

Lynn looked at Nami, who looked away trying to avoid eye contact. She still wasn't completely sure whether this girl was trustworthy or not. But, after coming into more contact with her during dinner, she didn't think Lynn was enemy.

"Why don't you all stay at my place tonight?" Lynn suggested. "We have spare rooms."

"I suppose we don't have anywhere else to go..." thought Zoro out loud.

Nami wasn't too keen on the idea, but she didn't want to reject the offer, as what Zoro said was true. "Just for one night." She said sternly.

Lynn smiled. At least Nami didn't consider her an enemy anymore. It was getting late now and the sun wasn't going to linger about for much longer. Lynn wanted to retrieve Zoro's katana and get home before it got dark. Speeding up, she jogged backwards up the hill, still facing the group.

"Hurry up then!" she grinned.

Nami and Miriam noticed something at the same time. "Watch out!" they both shouted.

It was too late. Lynn, not seeing where she was going, crashed into the sturdy figure that was on their way down the hill.

"Watch it squirt," a deep voice snarled. Turning, Lynn looked up at the man who stood behind her.

"Sorry," she apologized. But then she stopped. She stared. And her heart beat sped up. She knew this man. Everyone else stopped too, seeing the situation. Behind him, a few more bulky looking men stepped up and stood in a line. They followed him as if he were their leader. The man frowned when he saw Lynn face clearer.

"You look familiar..." he said darkly.

Lynn backed up, clenching her fists. Nami noticed this, although she couldn't tell whether it was in fear, or anger.

"You..." Lynn said through gritted teeth.

The man thought for a moment, and then his frown broke into a smirk.

"I remember now!" he laughed sadistically. "You're the brat from back then, aren't you?"

Lynn's fists tightened even more. Her whole body shook.

The man sneered, seeing this. "Well well well. We meet again."

* * *

Next time: Lynn's past is revealed. I thought, that since every other straw-hat crew member had a background story, that I'd give my OC one too, and it'll also be the reason for the final battle (hint hint…) ^_^. Not much humour, but some action and some emotional moments. If you're looking for comedy, wait till chapter 6! (Which i promise WILL be funny!)

R&R pretty please, and I'll see you soon!


	5. Shadows of the Past

Disclaimer: I don't own one piece, as you should know by now.

Miriam: yes we do know, so why do you still keep saying it?

SS: I don't know. I feel like a criminal if I don't.

Miriam: what the hell? No wonder Lynn says you're crazy.

SS: she did what? Great, I really am crazy. I mean, I'm being badmouthed by my own OC... Life sucks.

Miriam: only when _you're_ part of it.

SS: Lynn told you to say that, didn't she...?

Lynn: _*sniggers in a corner*_

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Chapter 5 - Shadows of the past

The cold wind blew on everyone standing on the empty street. Lynn stared at the man that stood before her. He was in his mid twenties, with wild spiky hair and a nose ring. The way that ring caught the light every time he sneered gave her the creeps. He was tough, sturdy and tall with dark hair and eyes. And Lynn hated him. More than words can ever describe.

"Who are you?" demanded Luffy. He had noticed that ever since Lynn saw the man, she had stopped smiling.

"Name's Jason," he sneered simply. "What's it to you?"

Miriam swallowed, and explained to them. "He's the leader of the infamous Black Boots gang. Kind of like a pirate crew or bunch of bandits, if that's easier for you to understand. And he's supposed to be in jail."

"Why the hell are you out?" snarled Lynn. She was acting different, and everyone realised it.

Jason laughed. "Bars can't keep me. I don't intend to sit in that place forever, you know."

From behind her, Nami could see something was very wrong. And the way Miriam shivered beside her just proved to her she was right. She wasn't just scared of him because he was some gang leader. It was for a different reason that she was acting so strange and tense.

"Who's the kid, boss?" one of the underlings asked Jason.

He smirked. "Stupid squirt. Got in my way a few years ago. Both of them."

Lynn didn't say a word, but her trembling gave her emotions away. She wanted to just walk away, but her body refused to move.

"Both of them?" the guy asked.

"Yeah!" Jason laughed sadistically. "The big guy tried to stand up for her, but it was pointless really."

Nami looked at Miriam, who covered her mouth with her hands. The way her eyes moistened over gave Nami an uneasy feeling. She didn't understand. Luffy and Zoro had gone very quiet.

Jason smirked some more as he said something meaningfully at Lynn. "He was an easy defeat."

A drop of blood dripped from Lynn's tightly clenched fist onto the ground. Luffy saw this, and he pulled down his hat further. He didn't understand what was happening, but that man was making his friend angry and he wasn't going to let that stand. Before he could step forward, Lynn turned sharply and glared at him.

"Don't..." she whispered fiercely, yet her voice was shaking.

"Yes, you should listen to her," Jason said, "You should know your limits. By the looks of you, I bet you're even more worthless than _him_." He grinned at Lynn evilly. And she snapped. She finally snapped.

"SHUT UP!" she screamed, throwing herself at him. He easily dodged her fierce attack.

"What? Did I say something?" Jason faked an innocent smile.

"Don't... you dare..." Lynn threw another punch. "Call my brother worthless!" again, he dodged. Luffy stared at her. He was confused. Her... brother?

"Why not? It's only the truth." Jason continued to tease her cruelly.

With a cry, Lynn swung her leg furiously and she swung it so fast it smacked into Jason's side before he had time to move. Cursing, he lunged forward, and grabbed her shirt.

"Just try doing that again you little piece of shit." He threw her to the ground, and with a wave of his hand, sent his underlings to attack. She didn't have a chance to get up as she was immediately covered with a frenzy of kicks and stamps, yelping in pain as she tried to cover her head with her arms. She felt a jolt as a foot rammed into her stomach, making her almost lose consciousness.

"Why you..." Luffy growled. "Don't hurt my friend!" he charged forward. "Gomu gomu no pistol!" he shouted, and sent four of the five men flying with a single punch. Jason's mouth dropped open, and Miriam gasped from behind. She had heard from Lynn that he was strong, but she never thought that he could have such incredible strength. The remaining guy looked at Luffy and then at his fallen comrades and freaked out. Luffy knelt down beside Lynn, who squirmed weakly in pain.

"I hate him..." she grimaced through gritted teeth. "I hate him..." her head throbbed in pain and black flashed before her eyes.

"It's alright," Luffy comforted her softly. "They'll be gone in a moment." He glared up at the two remaining enemy meaningfully. Lynn smiled slightly, relaxed at hearing his words.

"I'm sorry big brother," Lynn said to herself softly, closing her eyes. "I've failed you again…" she slowly fell limp as she let herself fall into a slumber.

Luffy stood up and cracked his knuckles. The fallen men had begun to rise up again, groaning in pain. They glanced over at Luffy, and attacked at the same time, though with no planned cooperation. Fighting each of them off, Luffy remembered Lynn's warning for him not to use his gomu powers, so avoided stretching himself. It didn't really make a difference, though, as these men were simply weak and defeat went to them easily. After they collapsed one by one, Luffy turned to Jason and his only remaining subject. Jason gritted his teeth and stepped forward to fight, but his mate wasn't planning the same.

"Gomu gomu no..." Luffy started. Remembering the power of his previous attacks, he turned without a word and ran away, pulling Jason with him.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jason yelled furiously. "Let me go!"

"He's too strong boss," the man said shakily. "Let's get back up first."

Jason snarled, but it was true. That kid didn't look it, but someone that could send four people flying wasn't an easy target. Cursing, he struggled effortlessly in his mate's grasp, and continued to do so until they were out of sight.

"Lynn!" Miriam rushed towards where she lay. "Are you alright?"

"She's just unconscious," said Luffy. Then he paused. He looked at Miriam. "She said something about her brother..." he said softly. "I thought she was an only child?"

Miriam sighed. "That's what she tells everyone. And it's true in a way. You see, she has an older brother called Grey. Well, she had."

Everyone stared at her and she continued with a pained smile.

"He died three years ago."

* * *

They sat under the apple tree by the seaside; Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Miriam in the centre, leaning against its trunk. They had taken Lynn home and laid her on the bed to rest after fetching Zoro's katana. That's when Miriam said that she wanted to tell them something, and brought then to the tree. Luffy recognised it as the tree he fell from when he first arrived. That day, Lynn had been sitting under it in the same spot Miriam now sat.

"This was their favourite spot," said Miriam. "That's why Lynn comes here so often. Back when Grey was still alive, this used to be the place they hung out and chilled." She paused. "And it's also the place where he died." She looked over at the rocky cliff below them.

"So why does she hate that Jason guy?" asked Nami. "Did he..."

"Yeah," Miriam nodded. "You could say that. You see, Lynn has always been a trouble maker, and when she got herself into a mess, it was usually Grey who helped her wriggle her way out. But one day she offended a member of the Black Boots gang, and they beat her up. After knowing this, her brother was furious and went to the gang, demanding an apology. I don't know how it went, but I doubt it went very well. Because Jason tried to track him down. And when he found him, it wasn't pretty. Lynn doesn't know this, but I saw it happen. I saw everything."

_(Flashback)_

"_Hey wait for me!" Lynn shouted after her brother, panting heavily. Grey scowled at his younger sister for following him. His short dark hair fluttered in the breeze as he stood under the apple tree by the sea._

"_What do you want?"_

"_Why did you do that?" Lynn demanded. "I know you didn't mean the things you said, so why?" although she was only 12 when he was 16, she understood her brother very well._

"_I meant every word," he growled at her, and she just laughed. Back in the house earlier, he had had a huge fight with their parents. He claimed that he wanted independence and when they refused to let him move out, he swore and cursed, and threw things around. Then he had grabbed all his belongings and pictures from the house and told them to forget he ever existed. He had basically cut himself from the family._

"_Grey, I know you don't really want to leave us," said Lynn. "So why did you do it?"_

_Grey knew he couldn't hide from his sister, so he stopped pretending. "I have my reasons," he sighed. Seeing her confused expression he leant down and looked in her eyes sternly._

"_I want you to pretend you never knew me." He said to her. "If you don't want to bring danger onto yourself, don't ever talk to me again, or tell anyone else we're related."_

_Lynn was hurt. "Why? We can work things out can't we? That's what you've always said isn't it?"_

_He shook his head. "No. This is the end of the line. I don't want you to suffer with me. You have a future ahead of you, and your own dreams. Be strong."_

"_You sound like you're in your deathbed or something," Lynn sniggered, but stopped when she saw his serious expression. A feeling of dread rushed over her. "What exactly did you do that's so serious?"_

"_Don't ask. Just leave. Now."_

_Lynn stuck out her bottom lip stubbornly and stropped. "I don't want to."_

_Meanwhile, Miriam was on her way over to Lynn's house when she noticed the two squabbling siblings under the apple tree. She started over to say hi, but then she noticed a bunch of men walking over to them from a distance. Feeling uneasy, she slowed down and lingered behind a small shrub, away from them._

_Lynn and Grey saw the men approaching. Grey panicked, and told Lynn to hide, which she refused. Frustrated, he shoved her forcefully into a bush near the tree._

"_I thought I might find you here," sneered the tall, dark one._

"_Shut it Jason."_

_Jason looked around. "Did I just see someone around?"_

"_No. Not at all." Grey said. "Now, what the hell do you want?"_

"_I heard you upset my brothers," he motioned towards the gang behind him. "And I don't like it. Care to apologize?"_

"_They're the ones who hurt Lynn, no way in hell am I apologizing."_

"_Yeah!" Lynn popped up from behind the bush. "They hit me!"_

_Grey screamed at her for revealing her position, much to Jason's amusement._

"_So this is your sister, eh?" he approached her, and ruffled her hair, much to her annoyance._

"_Don't touch her." Grey snarled._

_Jason harshly tossed Lynn to the side, and she landed in the bushes roughly. She could hear the fight between the two men go on behind her. Terrified, she daren't watch. But still, something forced her to turn around and face the present._

_The battle progressed and it soon was obvious who was at the advantage. Jason, with many years of fighting experience and brute strength, was forcing Grey nearer and nearer to the edge of the cliff. Lynn's eyes widen in horror and she scrambled to her feet, prepared to dash out to save him, but Grey shot a meaningful glance in her direction. She lingered, and trembled in pure dread and fear._

_Noticing his shift in attention, Jason sneered, and swung a hard kick at Grey's head. The impact threw him into the air; and over the safety of land._

_Lynn's world stood still as she watched her brother tumble off the edge of the cliff. A scream caught in her throat. And she collapsed onto her knees, tears dropping from her eyes. Jason looked over the cliff at where he fell and rolled his eyes. He hadn't meant for him to fall, but even so, it served him right, and he couldn't care less._

"_Let's go," he commanded his gang, and they trotted after him as he began to walk away, laughing cruelly at Grey's defeat._

_Lynn was left on her own. Their chilling laughter still lingered in her ears. Slapping both hands over her ears, she broke down, and wept sorrowfully; unable to stop, lost in a world of soul destroying grief._

_Yet all this time, no one noticed the small shadow behind a nearby shrub, also crying with a hand clamped over her mouth._

_(End of flashback)_

"Now, the funny thing was," Miriam said to the straw-hats. "The next day, when the police began to investigate his death, Lynn didn't say a word about how Jason and the boots gang were involved. She just said she didn't see a thing."

No one said a word, but they all knew exactly why. If she had told the police, the gang would have definitely come back for revenge, putting both her and her parents at danger. In the end, the police assumed it was suicide, and she was very brave to not have revealed anything otherwise. Most people would put vengeance before common sense, but Lynn knew better.

"Since that day, she swore to herself never to cry again. To make herself stronger, like her brother wanted her to be. " Miriam looked out to the ocean, squinting into the setting sun. "And she kept her promise. I haven't seen her cry for three years; but is that really a good thing? Isn't it unhealthy not to let your emotions out?"

The wind blew softly, she smiled a sad smile

"It's amazing how strong she is. It's strange. She acts so different when she's around others. She's so cheerful and lively, sometimes even _I _forget about the hideous things she's been through. But I know there are tears inside her, and she just refuses to let them out."

Miriam looked up at Luffy. He was aware of this, but continued to stare straight ahead. "I noticed something different when you arrived," she said. "She was smiling more brightly than she had for a long time. I guess... you reminded her of him; of her lost brother. I just want her to be happy, but I can't do anything…"

Miriam smiled, wiping away tears that rolled down her cheeks disobediently. "So, can you help me?"

No one said a word, but each one of them knew what their answer was. Luffy's hat cast a shadow over his eyes, and his tone was deep and serious when he spoke.

"Yeah," he said softly. "We will."

* * *

Hmmm. A failed attempt to write something dark and emotional? What do you think? It's my first time trying to write something like this, so please help me improve and R&R!

Next time: Luffy is attacked by fans, Sanji enters the scene with his mini side story, Nami goes shopping, and they prepare for Halloween, which is in two days. Overall, just much more light-hearted than this chapter! And if you want to laugh your ass off, read on, as the story just gets funnier and funnier!


	6. Teacher Imposters and Cooking lessons

Disclaimer: I don't own one piece; though I wish I did.

Sanji: you may not own one piece, but you own my heart, mademoiselle.

SS: Eh?

Sanji: MELLORINE! She's so cute when she's confused!_ *eyes turn into love hearts*_

SS: get off stage dimwit; you don't come in until later on!

Sanji: as you command! (Twirls off)

SS: I just want to say a great big THANK YOU to all my supporters and reviewers out there! I love you! Well, ok, not in _that_ kind of way...

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Chapter 6 - Teachers Imposters and Cooking Lessons

Morning came and sunlight began to filter through the blinds in Lynn's bedroom. She turned uncomfortably in her sleep. Her friends had removed her alarm clock from the room to ensure she got recommended sleep, after the events from the day before. But it was a school day, and it was only natural for her to be stirring at this time in the morning. Lynn just felt something wasn't right and that something made her completely unable to keep sleeping. She awoke and sat up, rubbing her eyes. As memories of the previous day flooded back, she immediately panicked.

"Luffy!" she cried, leaping out of bed and dashing straight down to the guest room he was staying in. she simply _had_ to see if he was alright. Bursting into the room without even knocking, she caught Luffy off guard. The poor pirate captain was trying to put on his trousers when the female intruder shocked him.

"Wo-woah!" he yelled as he tripped over a trouser leg and fell flat onto his face. He lay in a pitiful heap on the ground as both Lynn and Zoro began to laugh. The swordsman was already dressed was leaning against the wall.

"Glad to see _you're_ alright," he smirked. "Lively and rude as usual. Sure recovered fast, you did."

"What are you doing?" Luffy looked up from the floor with a pout on his face. "Don't just barge in, I'm trying to get dressed!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Lynn couldn't stop smiling. She was relieved on seeing Luffy was alright. In a way, she always knew nothing could really happen to him, but she was just so worried for some reason.

"Yeah, good morning and everything, but you think you could get out now?" Zoro gave a yawn. "A guy needs his privacy."

Lynn laughed, but left the room after apologizing yet again. Then she realised something. Wasn't Luffy putting on his school clothes?

"Hey, are you coming with me to school again?" Lynn burst into the room and like last time, Luffy went crashing to the floor again.

"What's the big idea?" Luffy gritted his teeth. He couldn't seem to be able to put on his trousers in peace.

"You're coming today, too?"

"Yeah! Yesterday was fun!"

Lynn blinked. No one had ever called school 'fun' before. Either this guy was crazy or he was being bribed. She thought back to the way he scoffed the school dinner at lunch, and thought maybe it was both.

"You shouldn't go to school today," Zoro said. "Your friend told us to let you get rest before she left last night."

"You mean Miriam?"

"Yeah, whatever her name was."

If were any normal day, Lynn have agreed to staying off without hesitation, as she'd prefer anything to school, but she was touched by Miriam's consideration, and didn't want to skip school and make her friend worry. Plus, she was feeling much better. "It's all right," Lynn said, though deep down she was thinking she must be crazy to give up a chance of skiving. "I'll be fine."

"If that's the case, then I think you might as well take Luffy with you." said Zoro. "You said he offended a tough guy, didn't you? And he thinks Luffy's your relative, so who's he going to take his anger out on when he can't find him?"

"Oh..." Lynn realised he had a point. Luffy had stood up and pulled his trousers up, finally. "Right then," she grabbed him by the arm before he could do up the zipper. "You're coming to be my bodyguard today." Luffy was caught off balance and fell over again. Realising her fault, she quickly let go and backed out of the room, smiling innocently whilst Zoro laughed at them. She closed the door and let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, hey," Lynn turned to the voice's source and saw Nami approaching her. "You feeling alright?"

"Um, yeah, thanks." Lynn was somewhat surprised. Nami had a different aura around her. The day before, she had been suspicious and cold, yet today... she seems to have changed her attitude towards Lynn.

"Hey, you know what?" Nami produced a sack from behind her back and thrusted it into her arms. "Take this."

Lynn opened the bag and found it was half filled with glistening gold. She grinned happily.

"Yeah, he's our captain so it's really our responsibility to feed him, isn't it?"

Lynn just smiled. It was true, but she knew Nami hadn't split her all this gold for just that reason. She didn't know what her other motives might be, but she could sense that Nami meant no harm. "Thank you."

The two smiled at each other. "Why don't I show you around town later today?" suggested Lynn. "I bet you'll just love the clothes and accessories from our world!"

Nami laughed. "You know, I think this could be the beginning of friendship!" they both cracked up at that for some reason, and just couldn't stop laughing for a long time.

* * *

Before they set off for school, Lynn first of all explained to Nami and Zoro some of the main rules in current day, and she was ever so relieved when they understood everything snappily; unlike a certain dimwit who Lynn had to spend all her time keeping a leash on.

"Why do you like school Luffy?" Lynn asked Luffy curiously as they headed for school. "What's good about it?"

Luffy grinned. "Everything!" but after a small pause he added, "but those girls were kind of scary though..." he thought back to when his fan-club almost suffocated him.

Lynn wondered whether after that P.E class, his fans have multiplied or become keener, and it turned out it was actually both, as they soon found out.

The moment Lynn and Luffy stepped into the classroom for registration, they were greeted by a crowd of eager fan-girls. Luffy panicked, and looked around for a place to hide. When he couldn't find anywhere to duck into, he turned, and ran for dear life.

"WAAAIIT!" the girls shouted, giving chase, and Lynn could hear their enthusiastic screaming all the way down the hall. Ok, they were _much_ more passionate than yesterday.

"Oh dear," Lynn muttered simply, and took her seat. She noticed Miriam wasn't here yet, which was surprising as usually it was Lynn who was always late. On looking around, neither could she detect Cain, which was relief, as it meant he was probably bunking off today. Lynn yawned, and sat back in her chair, listening to the chase outside in the corridor, and sometimes catching a glimpse of a terrified Luffy scampering past the open door. She was tempted to go and help him, but figured she'd only be run over by the stampede.

Luffy sprinted as fast as he could, but the gang of crazy girls seemed to just get nearer and nearer. The unfamiliar hallway wasn't an advantage either. Eyes widening in horror, Luffy realised he was headed towards a dead end. He stopped, searched for a way out frantically, but realised it was too late, and cowered as the girls swarmed over him.

Minutes later, the fan-girls walked back into the room with an imprisoned Luffy among them. Lynn laughed and watched them as they surrounded him, firing questions and expressing affection. Luffy tried many failed attempts to escape and finally, scared stiff, he could do nothing but endure the horror.

The bell for registration saved his life, and he scuttled out of the crowd as soon as their attentions shifted. Seating himself beside Lynn, he tried to shrink into the chair.

"They're scary…" he muttered.

Lynn just laughed. The great pirate captain was intimidated by a bunch of girls! The class settled as Miss Rose walked into the room, register in hand. She sat down in her teachers' seat, and moments later, Miriam burst into the room, huffing and puffing, gasping for breath, and obviously rushed to get to school.

"I'm sorry I'm late, miss!" she said. "And by the way, Lynn and Luffy will be off today, because they caught the flu."

Miriam was bewildered at the laughing that broke out as soon as she'd finished, wondering what on earth was so funny. That's when she noticed Luffy grinning at her from back of class and Lynn waving sheepishly. Miriam flushed red.

"Well, um, they're here, fit and well." Miss Rose was bemused, and gestured for Miriam to take her seat.

Not in the least pleased at making a fool of herself, Miriam walked over to Lynn, and demanded in a whisper. "I thought you were staying off today?"

Lynn just giggled, and Miriam sat down, grumbling to herself. She was glad Lynn was unharmed and cheerful, but was slightly cheesed that she hadn't been told of the change of plan. As Miss Rose finished calling out names from the register, she departed, and the class waited until she was out of sight before letting the noise rouse. Luffy noticed his fan-club beginning to rise from their seats, and freaked out. He quickly darted away from them, but was caught and hauled back forcefully.

Lynn laughed at them, but that was before she noticed that two girls were holding tightly onto Luffy's two arms, and both were trying to pull him over.

"He's with me!" said the girl holding onto his right arm.

"No, he's with _me_!" said Jess, who held onto his left. Both girls glared at each other, and the tug of war began.

Lynn jumped up in alarm. If this kept up, the fan-club would know about Luffy's secret! Signalling to Miriam, the two rushed over to help Luffy out. But their arrival just made the fan-girls even more competitive. Pulling and tugging, now in two teams, the fans held onto Luffy's arms firmly. Luffy could feel his arms stretching slightly at the tension, and Lynn panicked.

"Wait wait wait!" she cried, waving her arms about. Realising she was being ignored, and seeing Luffy's arms beginning to extend, she took a harsher action. Lynn hurried to Luffy's right arm and literally pried off the attached fingers, and gestured to Miriam that she was to do the same on his other arm. When the source of the force on his arms was removed, Luffy snapped his arms back into place and jumped away. A few of the fan-girls blinked in surprise, as they could have sworn they saw Luffy's arm stretch and retract.

Jess was the first to speak out. "Did he just… stretch?"

Lynn panicked and shook her head fiercely, completely rejecting the idea. "No no! Of course not! You must be seeing things! How could someone stretch?" she laughed awkwardly, and backed away. "My! Will you look at the time! We'd better get to class!" with another fake laugh, she yanked Luffy out of the classroom with her.

Jess and the others stared after her, and wondered what on earth was with her strange attitude. But they laughed it off in the end. After all, there's no way someone could really stretch like rubber!

_

* * *

_

Sanji leant against the side of the Going Merry, smoking and looking out to sea. "Where are you, Nami-swan?" he frowned and puffed out.

"_This isn't good," Usopp stressed, walking around in circles on deck. "Everyone's disappearing!"_

"_Oh, Nami-swan must be terrified without me by her side," Sanji said dreamily._

"_I doubt it. And aren't you worried about Luffy or Zoro?" _

"_Why the hell would I be worried about those two nutcases?"_

"_Damn it love-cook! They could be abducted for all we know! And with their brains, they'll probably sit and drink tea with the abductors!"_

_Sanji sniggered. "Sounds like something they would do!"_

_Usopp felt irritated at Sanji's care-free attitude._

"_Never mind long-nose-kun," smiled Robin from her folding chair. "He's probably worrying as well deep down."_

"_MELLORINE! Whatever you say Robin-chwan!" _

"_G-guys?" Usopp called with a shaky voice, pointing at something which made him turn white with terror. Both Robin and Sanji turned and their eyes widened at what they saw. A large, flat glistening circle of light, almost two meters in diameter, stood before them at the other side of deck. It had appeared from nowhere._

"_Isn't that the thing Captain-san went into?" Robin stared. "Am I right, cook-san?"_

_Sanji walked over and circled the light curiously. It was much bigger than the one they had seen before and didn't have any sort of pull or suction. Perhaps that was because of its sheer size. It looked exactly the same on both side and was almost as thin as a piece of paper. He stuck a hand through it, and instead of appearing on the other side, it disappeared completely. _

"_I'm going to have a look," decided Sanji, stepping forward._

"_NO!" cried Usopp, cowering behind Robin's chair. "It's dangerous!"_

"_I'll just have a quick look and I'll be right back."_

"_Be careful cook-san," warned Robin._

"_Yes! Robin-chwaan! I'll stay safe just for you!"_

_Usopp slapped his forehead. Sanji took a deep breath and stepped through. Seconds later, the light dimmed and pulsed and Robin and Usopp gaped in shock as it simply sucked in on itself and disappeared into thin air. Sanji was nowhere in sight. They were still in a daze when Chopper emerged from lower deck, stirring a small bowl of medicine._

"_Sanji, can I get another spoon please?" he called without looking up. On hearing the uncanny silence he lifted his head and sniffed and air, crinkling his blue nose. "Eh? Where's Sanji?"_

"_SANJI GOT EATEN BY THE LIGHT!" Usopp screamed, freaking out. Then he fainted and collapsed on the floor._

"_Oh dear," muttered Robin calmly._

"_ARH!" Chopper dropped his bowl and threw his petite arms up in the air in panic. "Usopp collapsed! Doctor! DOCTOR! Wait, that's me." He dashed over to the unconscious Usopp and began to nurse him._

* * *

"Hmm..." Sanji eyed the area cautiously. "Well this is... different..."

He stood in the middle of a parking space behind a huge building, rather confused. Never in his life had he seen such strange monsters made from metal. Were they weapons of some sort? Was he in some sort of enemy base? He approached one of them and circled it curiously.

"What _is_ this thing?" he wondered aloud, giving it a kick. The blaring alarm made him jump back in shock. It was an alarm system? No matter what it was, he didn't like the sound of it and turned to go back into the portal. He blinked; once, twice. It was gone. Now, that wasn't good…

"Oi, what are you doing?" a voiced demanded from behind. Sanji turned, and saw a middle aged man advance towards him, scowling. "Pesky kid," the man muttered. "I pop to the toilet for one minute and there's someone trying to vandalise my property." He was short and stubby, and had only a few wisps of silver hair on his otherwise bald head. His rough features and grumpy attitude reminded Sanji of a boar. On the pocket of his dark suit, Sanji noticed, clipped a name card, which read: Mr. Parker. The man named Mr. Parker glowered at Sanji some more before fishing out a key-like item from his pocket and aiming it at the screaming metal case. With the press of a button, the noise stopped, and peaceful silence swept over the area.

Sanji watched this carefully. "Interesting." He thought. "For some reason I think I'm not on the grand line anymore."

"Excuse me, what is this place?" Sanji asked the man, taking a puff on his cigarette. The man didn't answer, and instead grew furious.

"SMOKING!" he cried, snatching away Sanji's smoke and throwing it on the ground. "This is a high school, not a pub! Now get back to class before I report you to your teacher!"

"Why you…" Sanji's expression twisted into a snarl. Having his cigarette snatched was one the things he hated most. Overcome by his anger, he flung up his leg and knocked the man to the ground. "Stupid old fart!" Then he straightened his tie and lowered his leg. And that's when he noticed Mr. Parker wasn't moving. He had been knocked out, cold.

"I didn't kick him _that_ hard," muttered Sanji, edging away. He hadn't meant to knock the man out. Noticing a set of double doors on the far side of the building, he headed towards them. He got out another cigarette and preparing to strike a match, he thought about what the strange man had said, and frowned. What was a 'high school'?

"Whatever it is, it was no reason to ruin a perfectly good-" Sanji stopped as he pushed open the doors. 30 pairs of eyes fixed on him. He stood in the back of a room filled with kids, no older than 12 or 13. They stood around chatting, but had fallen silent when Sanji entered. Sanji gave the room a quick look around. The room was very large, and had two exits; one near the front of the room, and the other was the double doors Sanji had just walked through himself. There were over 15 worktops, each with an accompanying cooker, and different utensils lying on the desktops. Sinks and cupboards were positioned around the room, and health advice posters hung on the walls. It was a kitchen, yet somehow different…

"Are you the new supply teacher?" a boy asked, looking straight at Sanji. Sanji put away his unlit smoke and approached the kids, hoping to maybe get some answers from them.

"And… if I was?"

"Then you're late," the boy frowned. "Our lesson started 10 minutes ago."

Sanji stared at him. "So you mean, cooking lesson? As in learning how to cook?" He frowned at the class's nodding. So he had to teach them how to cook? Interesting, but he didn't really have time to be messing around with kids…

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" a sweet female voice came from behind as the doors opened. Sanji turned. The girl stopped on seeing him. She was about 18 years of age, with long brunette hair and sparkling green eyes. Sanji had to bite his tongue to stop himself from shouting 'Mellorine' and scaring the poor girl off. The girl tilted her head as she looked curiously at this young man before her. Tall, blonde, and handsome, no older than 19 or 20. This couldn't be the new supply teacher, could it? "Hi, I'm Helen," she introduced herself. "I'm from the local sixth form and I've been sent as an assistant for the new supply teacher. Are you him?"

"Yes, that's me." Sanji lied, but he had a good reason to. Well, it was a good reason for _him_.

Helen was surprised, and she laughed. "Well, nice to meet you. I've never seen a supply teacher as young as yourself!"

Sanji approached her with a playful smile. "And I, mademoiselle," he said, taking her hand and gently kissing it. "Have never seen a woman as beautiful as yourself."

Wolf whistles arouse in the room. Helen blushed, and shifted on her feet; speechless. Sanji straightened up and clapped his hands together.

"Alright then," he said. "As a 'supply teacher' what do I do?"

"You don't need to do a lot today," a young girl grumbled. "It's a theory lesson today. We have to do a few pages from our workbook."

Sanji blinked. "Workbook?"

The girl handed him a thick booklet and Sanji flicked through it quickly. There were tons of information and question sheets to do with different nutritious foods. Sanji rolled his eyes at how boring it looked.

"You do this crap in a 'cooking lesson'?" he snorted, tossing it aside. "You're kidding. Compared to this, the shitty old fart went easy on me." He thought back to chef Zeff back at the Baratie. "You guys are trainee chefs, right?" he said. "Then you should concentrate on practical work, and not waste your time with rubbish."

"It's_ all_ rubbish if you ask me." Said a young boy with dark hair, accompanied by mutterings of agreement.

"Is that your attitude towards cooking?" demanded Sanji, somewhat annoyed. "Don't you feel pride in bring the joy of food to others?"

"You sound like you're a pro or something," snorted a girl. Everyone knew that although they taught classes, teachers couldn't really cook. Especially not supply ones.

"And who says I'm not?" questioned Sanji, making everyone fall silent.

A few moments later, another boy broke the silence. "Yeah right," he rolled his eyes. "If you're so great, show us."

"I don't see why not," said Sanji, accepting the challenge. "But if I show you, you all have to shut your stinking traps and bow down to me."

The kids laughed at his response. This new supply teacher was different. He took a more interesting approach to things. And they liked it! He seemed much more fun than any teacher they'd had before. Helen hesitated, but she smiled, as the kids seemed to be happy. And it _was_ a cooking lesson!

"But we don't have much cooking ingredients," Helen said, opening and peering into the fridge at the front of the room. "What can you make?"

Sanji smirked. "Watch and learn." He went over to the fridge and made a quick scan.

Half a carton of milk, small packages of meat, some butter and cheese, and some random fruits and vegetables. Sanji lugged almost everything out of the fridge and heaved it onto a work top as everyone crowded around, wondering what on earth he'll do with such scattered, unprepared ingredients. He then checked all the cupboards, and brought out pots of flour, sugar, salt, herbs and spices, and such. Finally, he gathered many plates and saucers, and pots and pans.

Helen was about to ask if he required assistance, but held her tongue. This man looked like business, and a clumsy assistant like her would just get in his way. Setting out the chopping boards and bowls, he flashed her a smile.

Then he began. And everyone's jaws dropped. His hand moved at insane speeds, peeling and chopping up vegetables, and slicing meat. Instead of carefully measuring everything out like previous teachers did, he chucked all his ingredient and seasonings as if he couldn't care less, although anyone could tell he actually put much thought into his preparations and knew what he was doing. Turning on the hob, he placed a few pots and pans on, and as he cooked, flames arouse from the saucepans, dancing around and threatening to scorch the food if he wasn't careful. Now this was a real cooking expert!

After an amazingly short amount of time, the food was ready, and Sanji set his work down onto the worktop, neatly laid and set. He dusted his hands off and beamed at the aw-struck kids. Nobody could utter a word. They all stood and gaped at the phenomenal before them. A whole table full of gorgeous deluxe.

"W-WOW!" the kids began to applaud and even started to drool at the dazzling dishes and beautiful aroma.

One boy noticed, though, that there was still a pot on the hob, and walked over curiously. Peering inside, he saw and smelt the most luxurious soup. He eagerly snatched it off the hob and turned to show his classmates, but only to trip over his own feet with excitement. Every one gasped as the pot flew the air. Apart from Sanji that is. He shot out a leg, and catched the scorching pot with his foot, causing everyone's jaws to drop in surprise; again.

"Are you trying to kill us, boy?" he tutted, flicking up the pot balanced on his foot and onto the worktop. The boy couldn't even apologise for he was in such shock. In fact, the whole class was.

"AWESOME!" a girl broke the silence with a cheer. The rest of them followed, and they all stared at Sanji in admiration.

"You're amazing!"

"How did you do that?"

"And I thought it was just your cooking that was brilliant!"

"I want to be a chef too!"

Sanji grinned, and he looked over at Helen, who was also in awe. Pleased, he took out some cutlery and began to serve the food.

Half an hour and a good face-scoffing later, the class sat back and licked their lips. Never before had they tasted such extraordinary cooking. Begging for more and some even requesting him to teach them, they crowd around Sanji. Sanji grinned and glanced at Helen, who smiled back. His heart beat sped up when he realised just how stunning she looked.

A blast of cold wind from outside caused everyone to turn towards the doors at the back of the room. The energized chattering stopped as a groggily figure walked in, holding his head.

"Uh oh," Sanji muttered when he saw the man's face. It was Mr. Parker, whom he knocked unconscious earlier. "I think I best take my leave…" Sanji started to creep away to the other exit at the front of the room, before what the man said caught his attention.

"Sorry class. You'll never guess what happened, I was held up because I was knocked down by a crazy curly-brow kid who was smoking in the car park."

Sanji snarled and he jumped out at the man. "Who the hell are you calling curly-brow you shitty geezer?"

Mr. Parker's eyes widened in surprise on seeing Sanji, and then he grew enraged. "YOU!"

Everyone looked to and fro at Sanji and the man. It seemed like they knew each other. "Who are you?" Helen asked the man.

"I'm Mr. Parker," the man claimed. "And I'm the new Food and Nutrition supply teacher. But I was held up and made late by this stupid kid over here," he pointed accusingly at Sanji.

"_You're_ the new supply teacher?" gasped Helen. When Mr. Parker nodded, she looked back at Sanji. "Then...?"

Sanji scowled at Mr. Parker. "You'd better be thankful I took over your job for you, you damn old fart."

Mutterings arouse in the room as the new truth sank in. The man whom they thought was the awesome new supply teacher, was actually an imposter? Mr. Parker glowered at Sanji.

"You knock me unconscious and then take my job?"

"You knocked him unconscious?" gasped the class, staring at Sanji.

"I didn't know you were so damn weak!"

The class couldn't help but laugh at this, much to Mr. Parker's irritation.

"You've wasted their lesson," he accused.

"No he hasn't." A boy stood up and defended Sanji. In fact, it was the same boy who had questioned Sanji's abilities earlier, but now had new-found respect and admiration for him. "He's an amazing cook, and I've decided, I want to be just like him when I grow up!"

"Yeah, me too!" a girl pipped up. "I want to be a chef!"

The rest of the class chattered in agreement, having found motivation from Sanji's actions and skill.

Mr. Parker snarled and shouted, "I'm still going to report you for striking an innocent man!"

"It was your fault for ruining my cigarette in the first place," Sanji argued.

"You should never smoke in school premises!"

"How the hell would I know that?"

"You're a student, it's your responsibility."

"Who ever said I was a student!"

Mr Parker stared. The children stared. Helen stared.

"If you're not the supply teacher, and you're not a student… then who on earth are you?" Helen asked.

Sanji smirked. "I'm Sanji; a cook." He said simply and headed towards the door before Mr Parker could further pursue him. But he turned back, and blew a kiss at Helen. "We'll meet again, my dearest." He said, as he slid out of the room.

Helen stared after him, and then looked at the newly inspired class. "Sanji, huh?" she thought, a smile stretching over her lips.

* * *

Sanji strolled down the school corridor, grinning to himself. He was rather pleased with his little performance. Something caught his attention, though, as he passed a room. From out side, he could see something familiar through the pane of glass on the door. Was that… a straw hat? He stopped and looked in. in the room was a class, an older class than the one he had encountered, and there was someone amongst them, sitting near the back, wearing a straw-hat on his face, whilst leaning back in his chair in a sleeping posture. That boy looked awfully familiar. That posture was awfully familiar. That hat was awfully familiar. It couldn't be… could it?

Sanji pushed open the door and walked into the room. The class and the teacher, who had stopped talking, all looked at him. There were many cute looking girls in the class, Sanji noticed, but he was too disturbed by the boy in the back to woo any of them.

"Excuse me," he muttered to the teacher, and walked straight up to the back of the classroom. A girl stared at him with her mouth open as he came near, though he didn't notice it. It was Lynn, and she recognised him immediately. She was about to say something, but Sanji had already stopped and reached out a hand to the boy with the hat. Then, with a swift movement, he swiped away the hat, and saw Luffy's sleeping face. His face scrunched up in fury instantly.

"Why you little bastard!" he snarled, and without further ado, he slammed his leg directly onto Luffy's head, knocking him off the chair, and sending the class into chaos. Panicked and concerned shouts arouse in the room all around.

"What do you think you're doing?" yelled the teacher, standing up.

Sanji didn't answer, and instead, kicked Luffy again, sending him flying to the back of class.

"Stop it!" yelled Lynn, though Sanji couldn't hear her over the noise.

Luffy stood up from the floor. He was furious. He'd been assaulted for no reason and interrupted from his sleep. He grabbed his hat, which was lying at his feet, and turned to face his attacker.

"What's was that for?" he shouted, raising a fist. "Gomu gomu no…" he stopped suddenly when he had a clear look at Sanji's face. "Sanji?"

"Damn right it's me," he scowled. "What the hell are you doing here?"

The teacher opened his mouth to shout again, but Lynn shot up before he could do so.

"Excuse us, excuse us…" she said loudly, grabbing Luffy's wrist and pushing Sanji on the back, closing the door behind them as they exited.

"What's the big idea?" Sanji demanded, turning around. On seeing Lynn, though, his anger immediately disappeared and he began to grin. "Well, hello there, mademoiselle."

Lynn rolled her eyes as she remembered Sanji's signature personality. "Look, I can explain to you why Luffy is here, but you'll have to wait till a bit later. I need to straighten things out in _there_ first." She nodded towards the classroom door. Inside, she could hear the teacher trying to pin down the fan-girls to stop them flooding out into the corridor to see if Luffy was alright.

"Whatever you say!" said Sanji.

Before Lynn could step back into the classroom, though, Jess walked out.

She smiled calmly. "I represent the class and I just want to ask you… WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT?" she finished her sentence in a yell, running over to her dear Luffy, wrapping her arms around him and nuzzling into his shoulder. Lynn giggled awkwardly. It was only normal for Jess to be freaked out. After all, a random stranger _had_ just walked into the room and attacked her crush. Well, more like object of obsession...

"I'm so sorry for startling you, miss," said Sanji politely to Jess, taking a small bow. "I was just extremely angry at a certain stupid bastard." He didn't look at Luffy, but she knew what he meant.

"And who are you?" Jess was surprised, as she didn't expect him to be so well-mannered after seeing him cause the ruckus in class.

"Um, this is Sanji. Luffy's cousin." Lynn lied.

"If he was my cousin, I'd shoot myself..." Sanji muttered under his breath. Lynn elbowed him in the ribs.

Luckily, Jess didn't hear this, and she seemed slightly more at ease when she heard they were relatives. She stepped back and looked both of them up and down, and assumed they were probably not blood related, for she noted, "They don't look anything alike,"

Sanji was thrilled. "Yes! I am much more handsome than that pile of shit, wouldn't you say?"

Luffy bared his teeth. "Hey, who are you calling shit?" he was obviously still mad at Sanji for kicking him in class.

"You of course," Sanji snorted.

"You take that back."

"Bite me."

Luffy snarled and leapt up to bite him. Sanji dodged out of the way, swearing.

"Don't you dare give me rabies, you bastard."

Jess leaned over to Lynn, whispering in her ear, "You've got some strange hot relatives..."

"Not sure about hot, but they're strange alright..." Lynn walked up to the two boys and shoved them apart. "Break it up, break it up." Both continued to argue.

"You listen to me, because I'm captain!"

"You shut up, because I'm the cook."

"You're getting kicked off the ship when we get back!"

"You're getting kicked into the water when we get on board."

"Curly brow!"

"Rubber bastard."

"Pervy cook!"

"Dumb asshole."

"Wanna fight?" Luffy pushed up his sleeve, running out of insults.

"Bring it on."

Unable to hold it back any longer, Lynn punched both of them hard over the head before they revealed anything else they weren't suppose to.

"WILL YOU KNOCK IT OFF?"

"He started it." They said at the same time.

Lynn took a deep breath. "Ok, please apologise to Luffy." Lynn said to Sanji, figuring he'd be the easiest to get to; and she was right.

"Yes! Anything you say!" Sanji turned to Luffy and lowered his head. "I'm very sorry, you stupid bastard."

"WHAT?"

"Shut up Luffy, or there won't be any lunch." Lynn threatened. Luffy retreated immediately. Sighing in relief, she walked back into class, dragging Jess with her, and explained everything to the class, making it up along the way. She found she was beginning to get good at this lying business; though she wasn't sure if this was technically a good thing…

* * *

"I see." Said Sanji, lighting another cigarette. He had been listening patiently to Lynn's explanations as they sat outside on the empty grass field behind the school during break time. "So this gate is what brought me here."

Lynn nodded. "Did see a small piece of wood on the ground when the portal disappeared?

Sanji thought back, but he couldn't recall such a minor detail. They decided to go back to the parking area and search, hoping it would still be there. And Lynn sighed in relief when they found it lingering just under a car bumper. It was slightly larger than the pieces they'd found before, and Lynn suspected it had something to do with the size of the portal, as this portal was supposedly quite big, according to Sanji's descriptions. As she put the piece of wood together with her pendant, both she and Sanji were startled by a piercing car alarm, screaming out in the serene yard. Turning, they saw Luffy sitting on one of the car roofs, looking bewildered.

"What?" he asked innocently, as Lynn and Sanji grabbed him and hauled him away, quickly escaping before the owner of the car came and prosecuted them.

* * *

(Yeah yeah, I know I said they were going shopping, but this chapter got sooooo damn long so I decided to put some of it into the next chapter instead. Sorry for any inconveniences! God, I sound like some out-of-order public loo...)

Also next time: Usopp steps on the scene and discovers the terrors of Halloween whilst Luffy discovers the wonders of bubble gum. And Jason gets himself a helper…

I think you'll recognise him. He's an old rival, and he hates being called a red nose…

R&R for a faster update! :D

Please please R&R!


	7. Trick or Treat

Disclaimer: I do not own one piece, sadly.

Usopp: Of course you don't! Because it belongs to me! Brave warrior of the sea! Capaaaiin-…

SS:_*punches him*_

Usopp: _*collapses*_

SS: ahem, yes, anyway...

**

* * *

******

Chapter 7 – Trick or Treat

After school, Lynn and Luffy met Sanji at the arranged spot outside school premises. Sanji had caused a lot of chaos in class today, and rumour had it that Luffy was being pursued by some random murderer who claimed to be his cousin. Lynn tried to convince everyone it wasn't true, but only half the people believed her; and she couldn't blame them. After all, what would YOU think if someone got attacked for no reason in class? Her only resolve, now, was to keep Sanji away from the school at all costs.

They set off towards the empty field from the day before to meet up with Nami and Zoro as arranged earlier that day, and Sanji was bursting with excitement the whole way. Not so much on seeing Zoro, but he couldn't wait to see Nami again. On arriving, Lynn gave Nami a little wave to signify their presence, and Nami's eyes widened on seeing the blonde young man walking behind Lynn.

"Oh Nami-swaaan, I've missed you so much!" Sanji cried, rushing towards her with his arms wide open. Nami gave him a punch in response.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" she demanded.

"Is it just me, or do you greet everyone with a punch?" Lynn said to Nami. Nami didn't answer, and instead continued to stare at Sanji.

"AH!" he exclaimed, not in the least hurt. "The punch of love from my dearest!"

The others all dropped a sweat.

"If _you're_ here, then doesn't that mean only Robin, Chopper and Usopp are still on the ship?" Zoro frowned. "Is that safe?"

"No, not really," said Lynn. "But there's nothing we can do about it."

"They'll be fine," Sanji began to light a cigarette. "No one will notice our ship from where we anchored, so there won't be any danger. And they have enough supplies to keep them going."

Zoro, Nami and Luffy nodded, and relaxed. Lynn smiled, and Sanji's eyes turned into love hearts; again.

"Ah! My cute Lynnie-chwaaaan is sooooo adorable when she smiles!" Lynn crinkled her nose.

"Two things," she said, rolling her eyes. "First, I'm not yours, so don't talk to me as if I'm some sort of teddy bear. Second, never EVER call me Lynnie ever again. And don't call me 'cute' or 'adorable' either. I might just puke."

"Yes, little Lynn-chan," said Sanji obediently, and Lynn fumed.

"I'm not short!" she snapped.

"But he didn't call you short, he said 'little'," Nami pointed out.

"They mean the same thing don't they?"

"No, actually they don't," said Zoro, much to Lynn's annoyance.

"Just because you're all freakishly tall..." she grumbled.

Luffy walked over and raised his hand to compare his height and Lynn's. She barely came up to his nose. "But you _are_ a bit short..." said Luffy stupidly, and a thick English file connected with the top of his head in an instant.

"Just you say that again…" snarled Lynn, wielding her big-ass file like a bat.

"I was only telling the truth!" he pouted, and was immediately sent flying like a ball on a rounder's match.

"You've got a good swing," admitted Zoro as he watched Luffy tumble through the air and land at his feet.

"I'm 5'2, dammit, how is that short?" Lynn cried, stamping her foot.

"And I think we found her weak spot..." Nami sweat dropped, then turned to Lynn and gave her a plastic bag to change the subject. "By the way, this is the gold you told me to bring," she said.

Lynn peeked in and glanced at its contents. Then a small smile stretched across her face as she began to recover from her little hissy fit. "Let's go and exchange this for some money then, yeah? Afterwards, we can go and do some shopping to take our mind off things!"

Nami smiled enthusiastically, and Luffy grinned hungrily, getting up from his fall and rushing over. His wide grinning made Lynn couldn't help smiling along with him. Until he said something else, that is.

"Don't worry! You're my friend, and I don't really mind that you're small!"

Smack-wham-bang.

* * *

"We're RICH!" cried Lynn, rushing out of the gold jeweller's shop, waving her credit card about. After a gold-for-cash exchange, Lynn had never felt better knowing she was loaded!

"How much did you get for the gold?" asked Nami eagerly. She had only split Lynn half of her treasure, so was wondering roughly how much her split was worth.

"A big fat 500,000 pounds!" she exclaimed, grinning uncontrollably. "Now we don't have to worry about expenses anymore!"

"Yay!" cheered Luffy. "Now we can go buy meat! Or maybe a bronze statue!"

Both Nami and Lynn snapped at him. "Is that all you think about?" they demanded.

"Well... where's the money?" asked Zoro. "I don't see any."

Lynn held up her credit card between two fingers and waved it in his face. "It's all on here," she said. The straw hats blinked, and Lynn explained to them quickly what a credit card was.

"That's so handy!" Nami exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

"So the money's on the mysterious card..." Luffy muttered to himself, still slightly confused, if not clueless.

"Should we go then?" said Nami. "I can't wait to buy some new clothes!"

"Yeah, sure." Lynn lead them away from the jewellers and down the high street, introducing some modern-day shops. Luffy was amazed at all the new fascinating things. He had never been allowed to properly explore the high street yet, since the last time they went shopping it was only a trip to the corner shop. Luffy saw all the mannequins in shop windows, and took an interest.

"Why are those people standing around not moving?" he wondered, pressing up against the window of New Look.

"They're just plastic figures," said Lynn, peeling him off the glass. "And they advertise the clothes."

"Hmm… nice!" said Nami, examining a cute looking mini skirt on a model. "That one looks good! Come check this out Lynn."

Although not fazed by cute mini skirts, Lynn walked over to see anyway, and with Zoro and Sanji squabbling away at each other (like always), no one noticed Luffy sneak into the shop. He appeared pressed up against the window again a minute later, only this time he was inside the shop.

"Cool!" he exclaimed, peering out onto the street and waving to his friends who weren't looking his way. Glancing at the plastic models beside him, he decided to try a pose like them. And he held his pose rather proudly. Surprisingly, people walking past the shop thought he was also a mannequin. Nami was the first to notice Luffy, and she slapped her forehead.

"That idiot…" she muttered, causing Lynn to also glance over at him.

"Gah! Luffy!" Lynn let out a frustrated cry and waved a hand at Zoro commandingly. "Go and get him out of there."

Zoro ignored her, so she gave him a kick on the shin. He then acted out her orders reluctantly whilst grumbling away at how she was so rude. But, obviously, got lost as soon as he took two steps into the shop.

"And why did you send the most directionless one to fetch Luffy?" asked Nami, shaking her head and holding a hand over her eyes.

Lynn blinked. Then she snapped her fingers and pulled a face. "Drats, I forgot."

Nami sighed. "I'll go and get them both." She said, walking in. That's when Lynn noticed the little scene that was going on the other side of the glass. A shop assistant lady was undressing the mannequins, and Luffy, somehow unaware of this, was still holding his pose whilst grinning like an idiot. Lynn tried to warn him, but the lady had walked up to him already, and as soon as her hands touched his shoulder to take off his clothes, he turned, and the lady screamed and fell over. Luffy seemed to realise he'd done something wrong, and snuck back into the shop. Nami appeared seconds later at the glass, searching for him, and slapped her forehead as she realised what must have happened. Quickly apologising to the lady, who was still in shock, she signalled for Lynn to come into the shop and help her. Lynn nodded and ran in, leaving Sanji still standing there.

"Have they forgotten about me or something?" he wondered aloud as he lit a cigarette and walked in after them.

* * *

Luffy strolled casually, looking at the colourful clothing all around him. A few female heads began to turn in his direction and on noticing this, he became uneasy. It reminded him of his fans at school. No doubt, before long, he had a mini queue stalking him as he walked. It was only a matter of time before this morning's events repeated. Panicking, he fastened his pace, and turned a corner, ducking into a rail of clothes as he did so. The girls who were following him thought he was continuing down the next aisle and 'followed' him. As soon as they were out of sight, Luffy popped his head out and declared coast clear. But it still wasn't exactly safe, he realised, so he searched for an exit or another place to hide; preferable more comfortable than squatting under a load of tee-shirts. Noticing a door to his right, he headed over, not paying attention to the 'staff only' sign on the door.

Meanwhile, Nami and Lynn met up to discuss strategies of Zoro and Luffy tracking, and then both set off; Nami searching for Zoro and Lynn searching for Luffy. No sooner had they separated, though, Nami was distracted by all the fashionable garments around, and began to paw through them, searching for a nice bargain.

* * *

"Dammit! Where is Luffy?" Zoro grumbled as he circled the shop for the nth time unknowingly. "And where's the exit?"

A few teenagers watched the clueless swordsman with scowls on their faces.

"Is it just me, or have I seen him before?" wondered a girl out loud.

"No, that guy's been wandering over here 7 times now," said her boyfriend, wrapping his arm around her. "What the hell does he want?"

"I'll bet he's perverted or something," said his friend, folding his arms across his chest.

When Zoro unintentionally walked into the women's underwear section, the girl grew mad.

"What is he playing at?" she demanded, not to anyone specifically. "He really _is_ perverted!"

"But wait..." said the friend, looking over. "Isn't the changing room over there too?"

A load of high-pitched screams came from Zoro's direction, and he appeared a second later, chased by women, young and old.

"Does that answer your question?" the girl rolled her eyes.

* * *

On the other side of the shop, Nami was enjoying herself. She had found a few cute skirts and skinny tops, and was taking them to checkout. Grinning to herself, she fished out Lynn's credit card from her pocket. She had nicked it when Lynn wasn't looking.

"Surely Lynn won't mind!" Nami thought to herself as she stepped up to the young man at the checkout. He took her garments, held some sort of laser above it, and the strange machine beeping noises. Nami observed this with interest.

"£46.99 please," the man said, and Nami pouted. She leaned over the counter flirtatiously and battered her eyelids.

"Could you maybe lower it?" she asked, flicking her hair. "Just a little bit?" It was just her habit to try haggling the price down during her every purchase.

The man blushed, but held his ground. "I'm sorry Miss, but we don't bargain here," he said, looking away. Nami tried a few more times, but although he was flattered, wasn't about to give in. She sighed, realising that haggling didn't really work in this world and handed over Lynn's credit card to pay. The man slotted it in a small hand-held machine and pushed it towards her.

"Pin please,"

Nami blinked. "Pin?"

"Please enter your four number pin code, Miss," said the man patiently.

Nami looked down at the small machine, examined the number pad on it, and figured that it was basically the same as the combination needed to open a safe. Nami smiled and raised a finger to the number pad. She was an expert thief, after all, how hard could this be?

* * *

Lynn wandered down isles and ducked around railings, searching high and low for Luffy; but had caught no sign of him so far. 'Where on earth could he have gone?' she thought, looking around. A rising noise caught her attention, and she lifted her head to check out what was going on. Heading over to the source of all the chattering, she slapped a hand on her cheek when she saw Nami, circled by four security guards at the checkout, and an enormous queue behind her, getting extremely impatient.

"What's going on?" asked Lynn, rushing to the front and standing beside Nami. Nami shrugged sheepishly.

"Well, you see..." she said. "I'm sort of having trouble with your card..."

Lynn quickly patted her pockets, and when she found that they were empty, gave Nami a dirty look.

"When did you take it?" she demanded in a whisper.

"Earlier, when were outside," Nami whispered back. "Look, sorry, but er... could you kind of help me here?" she motioned towards the tough looking security guards, the impatient shop manager standing behind them, and the angry mob/queue of shoppers that looked like they were ready to pounce on her.

"That'll teach you to steal my stuff," Lynn grumbled, and began to try and explain their way out of this mess.

* * *

Sanji wandered around in the shop, looking around at the clothes, and more importantly, the female shoppers. Noticing an awfully cute looking bikini on a model standing on a self, he couldn't help but imagine Nami wearing it; and grinned pervertedly to himself. A rough hand clamped itself around his shoulder and he snapped out of his little day-dream.

"Oi, buddy," a gruff voice growled. "No smoking in the shop."

Sanji turned and came face to face with a sturdy looking security guard.

"Does everyone in this world have something against smoking?" he muttered, thinking back to the weird boar-faced teacher at the school. The man scowled at him some more.

"Please put out your smoke, sir, or we will have to ask you to leave," he said with forced patience in his voice.

"Why aren't I allowed to smoke in here?" asked Sanji, taking another puff.

"It's against the law to smoke in public places!"

Sanji snorted. "What a stupid law."

The security man was furious, and he spoke into his radio, requesting back up.

"What, you want to fight or something?" Sanji demanded.

"No, I just need to carry out my duty, and take legal action."

Sanji snarled. "You sound like those shitty marines; doing justice; but you're all wimps really,"

The man scowled at this and put down his radio. "Who are you calling wimp, stupid kid?"

"I'm not a kid, you shitty bastard,"

"You say that again, curly brow,"

"Who are calling curly brow?"

And their oral battle commenced.

* * *

The room was empty when Luffy walked in, luckily. But the bad news was that many things in this room hooked his attention and curiosity. Staring excitedly with his eyes wide at the monitors, Luffy realised he could see most of the shop from every angle. He rushed over, and sat himself onto the chair positioned in front of the screens. Looking around, he noticed Lynn and Nami in one of the monitors, walking away from the checkout carrying a few bags, and Nami was being lectured by Lynn whilst nodding meekly. Now, that was a rare sight, Nami being scolded. Then he noticed the microphone sticking up from the desk and took an interest. He pressed the 'on' button and spoke into it.

"Hello?" he said. "Hello hello?" He grinned in excitement when he saw both Nami and Lynn look up and search for the source of his voice. "Cool!" he exclaimed into the speaker. "you can hear me!"

Oh, they could hear him alright. And they were NOT happy.

"Hey Lynn! Nami! I can see you!" he continued, pointing at the screen where they stood. "How you doing?"

Lynn searched for the nearest security camera, and shook her fists at it, knowing that Luffy would see her. He did, and he laughed.

"You're funny!" he grinned. "Wanna try this out? It's way cool!"

People were beginning to stare at Lynn as she jumped up and down in frustration and mouthed things into the security camera. She didn't care if they thought she was crazy, she just wanted Luffy to get the hell away from the broadcasting room! Luffy, however, didn't really get the message.

"I don't understand what you mean," he frowned. "Stop jumping around like a monkey,"

"SAYS YOU!" she shouted upwards, and it was now obvious to onlookers that she was familiar with the person making the strange broadcast. The four security men from earlier surrounded Lynn and crossed their arms, and Lynn could but giggle awkwardly. Having had enough of this trouble making girl for one day, they dragged her over to the broadcasting room and demanded for her to take her strange 'relative' away with her. Lynn didn't argue. She snatched Luffy's hand and hauled him away, swearing to herself that she'll deal with him later.

* * *

"Never take Luffy shopping again; never take Luffy shopping again..." Lynn muttered to herself as she dragged him out of New Look. On stepping out of the shop, Nami following, she saw Sanji having a staring contest with the security man at the door, and slapped her forehead. Approaching and tearing them apart, she pulled Sanji away with her, cursing under her breath. And that's when Zoro ran out of the shop chased by a group of furious women.

"For God's sake, can't you guys stop attracting trouble?" cried Lynn, pulling on her hair.

"It was that guy that started it!" protested Sanji, pointing at the security who was still glaring angrily in his direction.

"Didn't I tell you not to smoke in public places?" demanded Lynn.

"Actually, no, you didn't." Sanji said, blinking.

"Didn't I?" Lynn thought back, then pulled a face. "Oh... my bad..."

"So it was _your_ fault!" declared Nami, and Lynn turned to snap at her.

"You're one to talk! You stole my card when you didn't even know how to use it!"

Nami grew quiet. Luffy chuckled, and it was his turn to be scolded.

"What did I tell you about running off?" snapped Lynn, and Luffy just grinned. Aggravated, Lynn turned to Zoro, who was still being chased in circles by the women, not far away. "WHAT ON EARTH DID YOU DO?" Lynn shouted to him. He didn't answer; perhaps it was because he was getting too freaked out by his hunters.

"Hey, Lynn?" Nami poked Lynn on the shoulder, "What's with those?"

Lynn turned and looked in the direction Nami pointed to. There were a few shops lined up, each unique, but all had a linking theme. Lynn quickly realised what Nami was talking about. The shops were all heavily decorated with spooky themed apparatuses and fancy costumes. Seeing this, Lynn kicked herself forgetting that it was Halloween tomorrow night. She quickly explained all about Halloween, and even about trick or treating.

Luffy's eyes widened in excitement. "WOW! SOUNDS AWSO-" Lynn clamped a hand over his mouth and cut him off, as pass-bys were staring bewildered at his sudden outburst. Luffy pried Lynn's fingers off.

"Ok, ok, I get it," he said, still grinning. "But it sounds awesome! I want to be a pirate!"

"You _are_ a pirate."

"Then can we go treat or tricking?"

"It's trick or treating!"

Nami looked at Lynn, and then at all the different looking costumes in the shops; and smiled. "Halloween, huh? Interesting…"

* * *

"_Where on earth ARE THEY?" Usopp cried, frustrated, scared, and worried all at the same time. "First Luffy, then Nami and Zoro, and now Sanji too!"_

_It was the day after Sanji had stepped into the portal, and if you can remember, will recall Usopp fainting from shock. Well, he's now woken up, it's morning, he's circling deck and he's stressing all over again. _

"_I'm scared," admitted Chopper, eyes wide and looking around nervously, as if he expected a monster to jump out any minute. _

"_WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?" howled Usopp. A hand sprouted from his back and thumped him on the head._

"_Calm down," said Robin, walking over, cup of coffee in hand._

"_How can you be so calm Robin?" demanded Usopp, rubbing his head where Robin's hand had hit him, "Aren't you worried? Our crew could be finished! No captain, no navigator, no cook, how are we going to sail on? We're stranded in the middle of the bloody grand line! We can't find our nakama, we can't go home, we can't go forward, so WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?"_

_Robin calmly grew another hand from Usopp's back and smacked him on the head again, and before he could say anything else, she grew another to clamp his mouth shut._

"_We can't do anything unless you calm down first," she said, and turned to Chopper. "Right, doctor-san?"_

_Chopper nodded, but his face was scrunched up. "But Usopp's right Robin," he whimpered. "We're in a difficult situation. What should we do?"_

"_Why don't we search for them?" she suggested. "One of us can guard the ship and the others can look around town and try to gather any useful information."_

_Chopper nodded, and so did Usopp, though he found it difficult with a hand tightly clamped over his mouth. He signalled towards his mouth, indicating he wanted to speak, and Robin removed her hand._

"_Chopper can stay on the ship," he said. "We can't really have a reindeer wondering around, can we?"_

_Chopper nodded, and Robin and Usopp set off._

* * *

School was as boring as usual, yet at the same time chaotic. Luffy slept through the morning lessons, got chased by fans and fell down the stairs at break, got shoved into a locker by Cain and locked in for most of lunchtime, and nearly destroyed the school computers during the afternoon ICT lesson. Evidently, Lynn and Miriam spent most of their day rescuing him and apologizing to others. After the final bell of the day rang, they both pulled him away from his horrific fan-club and rushed over to Lynn's house.

"How was school?" asked Nami, greeting the panting threesome at the front door.

"You don't want to know..." muttered Lynn, taking off her school bag and chucking it on the floor. Zoro was on the other side of the room, doing some press-ups.

"Hey you guys doing any thing for tonight?" asked Miriam.

Every one looked at her, including Lynn. Miriam sighed.

"You _do_ realise it's Halloween tonight?"

Lynn snapped her fingers. "I thought I forgot something…"

Everyone in the room dropped a sweat. She'd been telling them about Halloween yesterday, yet today she forgets? They hadn't realised it before, but was it really safe staying with this kind of a host?

"Don't look at me like that," Lynn protested at everyone's you're-such-an-idiot glares.

"Anyway," said Miriam. "I'm taking my little sister trick or treating tonight. You guys want to come?"

"YAY!" cried Luffy, throwing his hand in the air. "Treat or tricking!"

"Its trick or treating," corrected Lynn for the millionth time.

"I take that as a 'yes'," smiled Miriam, and then turned to Zoro and Nami. "What about you?"

Zoro yawned and stood up. "Well, the captain's spoken," he said, stretching. "And there's no going against his wish."

"Plus," added Nami with a grin. "It might be fun!"

* * *

Miriam arrived at Lynn's front door with her sister, Lily, at 6 o'clock sharp. Lily was a sweetheart; blonde hair, blue eyes, cute smile, and every feature and quality of an ideal 6 year old sister.

"She's so adorable!" Nami cooed when she stepped in the front door.

Lily smiled a sugary smile and Nami melted. Lynn rolled her eyes. Lily had that effect on every one she met. She was perfect. Too perfect for Lynn's liking, though. Tonight, Lily was dressed in a cute princess costume, wearing her cute hair in cute bunches, had a cute tiara sitting cutely on her cute little head, and carried a cute Halloween trick-or-treat bag which was cutely empty.

"Too sweet for you?" Miriam raised an eyebrow at her friend. Lynn pretended to be sick sarcastically.

"Have you no heart?" demanded Nami, putting her arms around the adorable little girl. "She's soooooo cute!"

"I see so much of her already I'm immune to her charms." Lynn shrugged. "Plus I was only joking." She turned to Lily. "You know I'm kidding, right?"

Lily smiled and nodded. And Nami melted again. Sanji melted too at Nami's adorable melting.

"Let's go treat or tricking!" said Luffy eagerly, jumping up and down like a hyperactive kid. Lynn couldn't even be bothered to correct him anymore, since he obviously is too stupid to even remember that it's 'trick or treat'.

"Are you guys dressing up then?" asked Miriam.

"Yep!" Luffy replied, pointing at his outfit. Miriam raised an eyebrow. She recognised his 'outfit' as the vest and shorts he wore when he first arrived, straw-hat and all.

"That's an outfit? What are you suppose to be?"

"I'm Monkey D Luffy! The man who's going to become pirate king!" he replied proudly with a wide grin.

"That doesn't really answer her question," sighed Nami.

"He thinks that since he _is_ a pirate, he just has to dress up as himself," said Lynn to Miriam. Miriam shrugged.

"Aren't _you_ dressing up?"

"Not this year," replied Lynn. "I didn't have time to pick out a costume."

Nami rolled her eyes. "You mean you _forgot_."

"Same thing," said Lynn, quickly hustling everyone out of the house. "Besides, it's not like I'll get any less candy."

"What do you mean?" asked Nami.

"Well, Luffy's only going trick or treating for the crack, so it's not like he'll be actually eating all the candy he gets," said Lynn cheekily. "I'll just nick his."

"Wow, you're so nice..." muttered Nami sarcastically as they set off, heading towards the now busy neighbourhood.

* * *

"Trick or treat!" "Treat or trick!" Luffy and Lily shouted at the old woman who opened the door. Their eyes were wide with eagerness and their cheesy grins were as wide as each other.

"Apart from his height, he's no different from a 6 year old," commented Nami who stood with Zoro, Sanji and Lynn a few meters behind Miriam and the candy scavenging duo.

"And he still can't get 'trick or treat' into his empty little head," said Lynn.

"My, aren't you an adorable princess!" the old woman beamed, dropping some mars bars into their bags. "And what are you suppose to be?" she asked Luffy.

"I'm the captain of the Straw Hat pirates!"

The old woman blinked. "You're a pirate?"

"Yep! And I'm going to become pirate king!"

The old woman chuckled, not realising Luffy was 100% serious. "That's very original!" Luffy grinned proudly in response as they walked away to move onto the next house.

"Having fun?" asked Lynn, raising an eyebrow at the childish pirate captain.

"Yeah!" he cheered, running after Lily, trying to beat her to the door of their next stop. Then, house after house, they trick or treated until their bags were almost full; and until the others were almost collapsing with exhaustion.

"Are you done yet?" moaned Lynn, shivering in the cold. "We've been out for more than an hour!"

"But it's rather strange," said Luffy frowning into his bag. "I could swear I had more in here earlier,"

Everyone, apart from Luffy, looked at Lynn, who shrugged. "What?"

Miriam rolled her eyes and led her sister to the next and final house on the block. Luffy was about to follow, before he noticed something interesting. Lynn was chewing away at something, and what was catching his attention was the fact she even blew a pink coloured bubble from her mouth.

"What's that?" asked Luffy curiously, sticking out a finger and popping her bubble. It burst with a loud 'bang' which made him jump. "Can I try?"

Lynn fumbled in her pocket and pulled out a small packet.

"Alright," Lynn held out to Luffy a stick of sweet in a wrapper. "Chew but don't swallow." Luffy took it and examined it curiously. He unwrapped it, popped it in his mouth. Then his eyes widened as an exciting new fruity flavour tingled on his tongue.

"What is it?" he asked, chewing away at its rubbery texture.

"It's called bubble gum. Just remember, don't swa-"

Luffy swallowed it, and Lynn slapped her forehead.

"What's going to happen?" asked a concerned Nami.

"He'll surly die."

Nami gasped in horror.

"Joke, joke," said Lynn, smiling meekly, and Nami bashed her on the head in a don't-mess-with-me-like-that kind of way.

Luffy pouted. "I want another one. I haven't tried the bubble-blowing thing yet,"

Lynn rolled her eyes and handed over another piece of gum, quickly reminding him again not to swallow before he eagerly stuffed it into his mouth. Lynn blew a bubble on her gum, demonstrating for Luffy to follow. He tried. He tried again. Every time he failed. Thoroughly irritated that he couldn't do it, he positioned the gum on his tongue for the final time, and blew hard. Too hard. The gum flew out of his mouth and landed with a splat on a certain swordsman's forehead. Everyone burst out laughing; apart from Zoro, who was too grossed out to even threaten to kill Luffy.

"Oops," said Luffy simply, and snatched the gum off Zoro's face. He put it back into his mouth before you could say 'don't eat Zoro-germs'.

"EEW!" cried Lynn, grimacing. "That's disgusting!"

"What is?" wondered Luffy aloud, chewing away.

Zoro walked away muttering something along the lines of going to decontaminate himself.

"I don't know if I should feel sorry for Zoro or Luffy…" said Nami, holding her head.

Luffy, by now, had had a few more failed attempts to blow that bubble, and was getting impatient again. Lynn and Nami took a huge step back, keeping a three meter radius between themselves and the gum of terror in Luffy's mouth. Suddenly, Luffy's eyes widened as he thought of a great idea. Well, it was a great idea to him.

"Gomu gomu no…" he took in a deep breath and puffed up his stomach. "Balloon!"

Lynn and Nami blinked, wondering what on earth he was going to do. He couldn't possibly try to blow all the air from his balloon-stomach into the gum, could he? Actually, the answer was yes. He blew hard but instead of the air going into the gum to blow a bubble, it drove the gum at 50Mph out of his mouth, and went splat against the neck of a certain swordsman who, despite being a good 10 meters away, couldn't avoid his ghastly fate. Zoro now fainted; partly because he was too furious for words, partly because he couldn't believe the dreadful accuracy of his captain's aim; or his goddamn bad luck.

"Oops," said Luffy, blinking at his collapsed comrade.

_

* * *

_

Usopp headed back to the Going Merry after a long day of searching for any clues on his missing friends; but all was in vain. No one in the village had ever heard of or seen anything like the sights he had described to them.

'_I hope Robin has found out more than me,' he thought. They had split up earlier that day to head in two different directions, and now that it was almost nightfall, Usopp was stressing over the fact that he hadn't found any useful sources of information. Suddenly, a gust of swirling wind made him look up; and his jaw dropped in terror. A small circle of light stood before him; a whirlpool of colours sucking the air in speedily. Usopp tried to turn and run, but the force of the portal was too strong. _

"_Arh! Why me?" He screamed, as he felt himself lifting off the ground and pulled into the light. _

* * *

Lynn and the Straw Hats were walking home after a long evening of trick or treating. Originally, Luffy showed no sign of quitting, but Lily had stayed past her bedtime, and Miriam forced her to say her goodbyes. After the siblings left, Lynn finally convinced Luffy to call it a day. Everyone else was almost collapsing from exhaustion, apart from Luffy, who was hyper as always, and Lynn who was getting her energy from scoffing Luffy's candy. Zoro had woken up ages ago, and was walking a far, far distance away from Luffy, just in case.

"Cool pumpkin!" exclaimed Luffy, snatching and holding up a jack-o'-lantern which sat on the windowsill of someone's house.

"Don't touch that," said Nami frowning. "It's not yours."

Luffy ignored her and continued to have fun with it, but moments later, a problem arose.

"I can't get it off!" moaned Luffy, trying to tug the pumpkin off his head. "It's stuck!"

Lynn and Nami slapped their foreheads. Trust Luffy to get his head stuck in a pumpkin. Luffy tugged and pulled at it, but apart from making his neck stretch with the force of the pull, nothing happened. Luffy ran around in frustration, but crashed into a wall as he couldn't see where he was going. Zoro stepped forward with a sigh and placed a hand on his katana.

"Hold still," he commanded. Luffy did so because he couldn't see what Zoro was about to do. In a swift movement, Zoro made a few quick slashes at Luffy's head. Luffy's eyes widened in alarm as the pumpkin piece fell from his face and he saw Zoro sheathing his katana.

"You psycho!" Luffy shouted, quickly feeling his head to make sure it wasn't slashed and falling to piece as he spoke. "How dare you chop your captain!"

Zoro snorted. "Sorry '_captain_' but I was just getting you unstuck."

Lynn and Nami both bashed him on the head.

"If that was to get him back for the bubble gum earlier, then that was dirty!" said Nami.

"And didn't I tell you not to take your katana out into public?" demanded Lynn. Nami raised an eyebrow.

"You only_ just _realised he had them?"

Lynn turned away without an answer and Nami took that as a 'yes'. Zoro stroked the two newly risen bumps on his head and scowled at Sanji who stood behind the girls chuckling.

* * *

When Usopp was tossed out of the portal, he landed on his knees on a patch of hard pavement. Looking up, he saw the creepy sights before him. Scary pumpkin heads, horrible ghastly monsters, vampires, mummies, pirates; so many of them! He quickly spun around to leap back into the portal, and boy was he horrified to find it had gone. Panicking, he ducked into a nearby bush and cowered into the shadows. Shivering and wondering what do, he tensed when he heard footsteps advancing. He turned white with fear when he felt a presence before him. Someone was there.

"ARRHH!" he screamed, covering his head with his arms. "Don't hurt me!" on hearing the silence, he opened an eye and peeked upwards. There was just a young boy standing over him, looking bewildered and just as scared as Usopp was. Usopp breathed out in relief. So it was just a kid, then.

"Who are you?" asked the little boy, staring at Usopp wide eyed. "Why are you in a bush?"

Usopp blinked, and quickly stood up. Then he cleared his throat and began boasting. "I am the great pirate captain Usopp, my boy, with over 8000 followers! All the people tremble when they hear my name, that's how great I am!"

"8000 followers?" the boy gasped in surprise. "That's amazing!"

"Ah yes, it is, isn't it!" Usopp beamed proudly, forgetting his fears for a moment. "And my men and I have sailed the seas for many years, going on great adventure and staring death in the eye."

The little boy's eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. "WOW!"

"There were times when I beat giants, dinosaurs, ferocious beasts, fierce pirates, and I never batted an eye!"

The boy was now staring at the great 'pirate captain' admiringly. "Wow, I wish I had that kind of courage." He said. "But I'm just too much of a scaredy cat."

"Shall I tell you of our grand voyages?"

"Yes!" the boy cried. "I'd love to hear!"

Maybe it was a huge coincidence; whilst Usopp bragged away to the little boy, Lynn and the Straw Hats happened to be passing.

"Hey, is that... who I think it is?" asked Nami, squinting down the road. Lynn glanced in the direction Nami was looking, and she blinked.

"Isn't that...?"

"Usopp!" cried Luffy happily, pointing in his direction. "Hey, Usopp!"

Eager to talk to his sharpshooter again, Luffy didn't want to wait for a response.

"Gomu gomu no... Usopp grab!" he shouted, and shot out an arm, hooking it around Usopp's waist and pulling him in. The little boy stared in shock at the long arm that snatched away the 'pirate captain' and ran away, screaming. Meanwhile, Luffy's arm reeled in and the terrified Usopp landed in a heap at the crew's feet.

"No, don't hurt me!" he pleaded on his knees, not daring to look up. Seizing this great opportunity, Lynn stepped forward and put on a gruff voice.

"You will do as I say." She commanded, and Usopp nodded at the unfamiliar voice, still unaware of who was talking. Lynn pressed a finger against her lips, indicating for the straw hat crew not to talk and ruin her little joke. They looked at each other, and shrugged, leaving Lynn to have her fun.

Lynn giggled quietly, and then continued, "You must tell me what you are doing here."

"I'm just looking for my crew!"

"_Your_ crew?" Lynn raised an eyebrow.

"Y-yes!" Usopp, despite being terrified, kept up with his lies. "I-I'm the great captain Usopp and I'm looking for my missing crew!"

"And who are they?"

"Um… a greedy navigator, a snooze-head swordsman with moss hair, a perverted cook, and an airhead who eats too much. Seen them?"

In response, everyone present from the pirate crew threw punches, and a kick, at the sharpshooter.

"What's wrong with liking money?"

"Who are you calling a moss head?"

"I am _not_ perverted!"

"_I'm_ the captain! And that's final!"

Usopp lifted his head, looked up at his friends, and then over at the sniggering Lynn. And his jaw dropped open.

"Guys! What are you doing here?" he pointed to Lynn. "And who's she?"

"What are YOU doing here?" they all demanded.

Luffy thought for a moment, and added. "And who's the 'airhead' you're talking about?"

Everyone sighed at his stupidity.

"So who are you?" asked Usopp to Lynn.

Lynn tittered. "I'm an evil bandit who kidnapped your crew!" she lied. Everyone glared at her, and she shrugged. "What? You know I'm just joking," she cleared her throat and started again.

"I'm Lynn," Lynn introduced herself. "And I'm your travel agent and keeper-out-of-trouble-person in the modern world. I'm a nice girl, but if you piss me off, run away. Run far away." Usopp flinched, somehow getting the feeling that the last comment was intended to threaten him.

"She's only joking!" said Luffy, grinning.

"Actually, this time I wasn't."

Usopp leaned over to Nami and whispered in her ear. "Are you sure it's safe trusting her?"

"You can trust her," confirmed Nami. "Plus, we've got the monster trio if she tries anything funny,"

"Great, I feel threatened," said Lynn.

"Anyway, let get out of here," Usopp said to his friends, "It's not safe here. There's all sort of monsters lurking around,"

"Monsters?" Nami frowned.

"There's monsters?" Luffy's eyes widened in excitement. "Where!"

"There are people with pumpkins for heads, and scary..."

Lynn couldn't help laughing when she realised what he was talking about. "He's scared of Halloween costumes?"

Usopp's jaw dropped. "You mean this is some kind of festival?"

Lynn laughed even more.

"Don't laugh at the great captain Usopp!" Usopp scowled, extremely embarrassed. "I wasn't scared at all!"

Lynn just continued to laugh; until a rustling in the bushes caused all of them to turn. Nami and Usopp tensed, and Lynn blinked. Suddenly, a shadow jumped out, and sat before them.

"A rabbit?" blinked Usopp.

"Aw, cute!" beamed Nami.

That's when they noticed Lynn was strangely silent. Looking over, they saw Lynn was cowering behind Luffy, trembling.

"It's all right," said Nami. "It's just a rabbit,"

"I...I..." Lynn stuttered, swallowing before she continued. "I have leporiphobia..."

Luffy blinked. "Lepo-what?"

"It's a fear of rabbits dammit!" Lynn cried, recoiling even more.

"You're scared of rabbits?" Zoro raised an eyebrow.

"Lynn-chwan is so cute when she's scared!" Sanji beamed.

Usopp grinned a somewhat evil grin. "So do you still find it hilarious that I got freaked out by costumes?"

"Yes," admitted Lynn. Usopp grabbed the rabbit off the ground and held it towards Lynn, who screamed and fell over. "Ok! Ok! I won't laugh!" she cried, shuffling backwards.

Usopp put down the rabbit and smirked triumphantly. Lynn scowled at him on the ground; and she swore to herself that she'll get him back. Sooner or later.

_

* * *

_

Buggy and his crew, the buggy pirates, sat around a campfire partying. It was evening; the sky was dark, the land was quiet, and only the sound of their laughter rang out in open space. They tore at barbequed meat and chugged down sake, thoroughly enjoying their time. They had docked at an island, half filled with forestation and decided to camp away from civilisation for the night.

"_Drink up boys!" shouted Buggy. "we'll have our fun tonight, and rampage the town next morning!" _

_He was responded to by enthusiastic cheering and shouts. Mohji the animal tamer grinned widely, and stroked his pet lion, Richie, whilst tossing him some steak. Richie tore at it hungrily, and growled happily at his master. But suddenly, he felt uneasy. He stood up, sniffed the air, and whimpered. Mohji blinked at the lion's strange behaviour, and asked him what was wrong. Richie didn't respond, not that he could anyway, and instead took off running. _

"_Wait!" Mohji shouted, chasing after him._

"_Where you going?" Buggy shouted, chasing after Mohji._

"_Boss!" shouted his crew, chasing after Buggy. But then they stopped, and they gawped at the sight before them. The thing that had startled Richie was a circle of light; a largish circle, glistening in the dark of the night. Richie charged into it, and disappeared from sight, followed by his master, who wasn't about to let his pet run off; followed by Buggy, who wasn't about to let his first mate abandon him for a lion. Buggy wasn't followed by his faithful crew though, as the light sucked in on itself and disappeared before they could do anything. Silence fell over the area. Each one of stared after their absent captain, and wondered what on earth to do now._

* * *

Buggy stumbled out of the portal and looked around for his first mate, who was nowhere in sight. Instead, he found himself standing in a peculiar place, surrounded by peculiar men wearing some sort of uniform.

"Where in the flashy world am I?" he muttered to himself.

The dimming portal behind him caught his attention, and he turned, just in time to see it disappear and turn into a strange dark material which fell into his palm. Buggy looked at it. It was a piece of wood. He didn't have time to analyze why the hell the light turned into a piece of wood, as the men were beginning to close in on him.

* * *

A man in his mid twenties walked peevishly down the road. His spiked hair ruffled in the wind and his nose ring sparkled in the streetlight as he scowled to himself. Jason was not happy; he was far from content. For two days now, he'd been fuming away on his own. He'd been thoroughly annoyed. Four of his men had been beaten by a pathetic skinny kid, and he wasn't about to let that lie. Jason swore he was going to get his own back, and as soon as he tracks the kid down, he'll attack. But this time he'll be prepared.

"Hey! Stop right there!" a voice called from behind him. Jason spun around in alarm, thinking the message was meant for him, but he was proven wrong when a strange clown ran past him, chased by a few policemen.

"Leave me alone you flashy bastards!" the clown shouted furiously. Jason rolled his eyes at this strange sight. Well, it wasn't everyday you see a clown chased by police.

"Stop running!" a policeman demanded, not showing any sign of retreat. "We just want to know why you were in the police station!"

"That's it, I've had enough," the clown stopped and snarled. "Bara bara cannon!" And Jason's eyes widened at what he saw next. The clown's arm detached from his body and launched itself at a now terrified policeman, wrapping its fingers around his neck.

"M-MONSTER!" the other two shouted, running off in horror.

"Pathetic," snorted the clown. "You're all too weak." with that he, or rather, his hand, threw the policeman whom he had a hold on, to the ground. Watching this from a small distance, Jason grinned.

'Interesting,' he thought, walking over to the strange clown. 'Very interesting.'

The policeman on the ground scampered away, and Jason clapped approvingly.

"Amazing," he said to the clown. "You seem to have some sort of strange power. Who are you?"

"I'm Buggy; Captain of the Buggy pirates," the clown replied. Then, his head snapped round to where Jason stood and stared at him as if he just noticed there was someone there. "Who in the name of flash are you?"

"You're a pirate?" Jason rolled his eyes. "That's ridiculous." But then he thought back to the way Buggy's hand detached from his arm, and reconsidered.

"What do you mean ridiculous?" demanded Buggy. "What's ridiculous about a pirate on the Grand Line? It's flashily normal."

"The Grand Line? What's that? Is that where you come from?"

"Yeah," frowned Buggy, "I was just minding my own flashy business when my first mate ran off into some light, and when I followed, I ended up in this place. And do you know what's worse?" Buggy tossed Jason a piece of wood, "the light changed into this thing and now I can't get back to my flashy crew!"

Jason examined the wood. It looked very ordinary, yet somehow it gave him an uneasy feeling. He decided to keep a hold of it, just in case. Putting in his pocket, he turned back to Buggy.

"You can't get back, huh?" said Jason with a smirk. "I could help, I suppose."

Buggy looked at Jason. "Help?"

"I can get you a place to stay for the time being, help you track down your lost first mate, and find a way to get you back," Jason promised.

"Really?" Buggy's eyes widened, yet held some traces of suspicion. "How can I trust you?"

"Oh, you can trust me alright," grinned Jason, putting an arm around his new 'friend'. Jason then introduced himself as the leader of the Black Boots gang, and Buggy nodded approvingly. A gang was in many ways similar to a pirate crew; just one ruled on land, and the other ruled the seas.

"You can help me find Mohji?" Buggy asked.

"Of course," said Jason. "You said he's an animal tamer with a lion, right? So he's probably being mistaken for part of some circus, and we can track him down if that's the case."

Buggy grinned, pleased. "You're a nice guy!" he beamed. "Is there anything I can do for you in return for your favours?"

Jason smiled darkly. "Actually, there is one thing..."

* * *

Soon after Jason and Buggy's deal was struck, Jason helped his new partner find a hotel, and gave him tips on how to survive in this new world. Leaving buggy with a mobile for contacting, Jason set off home. He strolled down the road now, quite pleased.

'Just you wait now, kid,' he thought. 'I'll get my own back soon.'

Something caught his attention. Jason saw a girl; around 18 years of age, long brown hair, large emerald eyes, walking down street on her way home, and approached her.

"Hey," he smirked at her, and her eyes widened.

"Jason!" she said, her voice filled with surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought..."

"I've been out of jail for three days. And you don't even know? What kind of a sister are you?"

The girl smiled at her older brother. She was glad he was out of jail, but at the same time worried, as she noticed that strange triumphant smile on his face.

"Why are you grinning like that?"

Jason laughed. "Because I've found a perfect ally, that's why." He chuckled darkly as he began to walk away. "See you later, Helen."

Helen watched him disappear into the shadows, and sighed. A perfect ally? "Who's he going to pick a fight with this time?" she wondered aloud, shaking her head.

* * *

Next time: ok, two words; swimming pool :-P need I say more? Also, Luffy causes a little havoc in chemistry, Sanji almost dies (of happiness) and someone finds out Luffy's secret when an unexpected foe arrives...

Thoughts on this chapter? Hate it? Love it? Any mistakes or plot holes that I need to have a look at? Please PLEASE R&R!


	8. Swimming Pools and Sea Monsters

Disclaimer: nope, don't own one piece! Sorry for the late update; homework has been killing me. But I'm so happy my story now has fans! Yay! Yay! Double yay!

Lynn: you sound like some pathetic cheerleader wannabe.

SS: Shut up shorty.

Lynn: *$%&(£$*… _*walks away cursing my ass off*_

SS: To all my reviewers out there, thank you soooooooo much for your support! I love you! I love you all!

Nami: Wow, you're almost as perverted as Sanji.

SS: … I find that rather insulting…

This chapter is super long (even longer than my last one), oops! But I guess that makes up for disappearing! From next time on, though, shorter chapters and faster updates; sound like a deal? ^^

(Btw, my story now has artwork! If you fancy checking it out, just clickon my profile :D I will be doing more artworks later on of my story so if anyone has anything they'd like me to draw, just tell me and I'll do my best ^_^)

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* * *

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Chapter 8 –Swimming Pools and Sea Monsters

"Rabbits are ultimate evil..." muttered Lynn whilst she walked home with her friends. It was dark now, and Halloween night was yet to end. Usopp sniggered.

"You're afraid of _rabbits_, yet you laugh at me?"

"They're evil," she protested, shuddering at the thought of the long-eared, furry tailed creature. "They really are..."

"How?" asked Nami, rather confused. "Rabbits are cute,"

Lynn shuddered again on hearing the word 'rabbit'. "They aren't cute! They're anything but cute! They kick, they bite, and they smell of droppings!"

"No, that's Sanji," Zoro snorted. Sanji shot him a dirty look, cursing under his breath.

"Rabbits don't bite," said Nami.

"Yes they do! And I've been bitten before!"

"You were bitten by a rabbit?" laughed Luffy.

"Leporiphobia, huh?" murmured Nami.

Lynn nodded. Usopp suddenly remembered something, and he stopped on his tracks.

"Hold on, do you know what the light thing was?" he asked Lynn, and her eyes widened.

"Oh no, I forgot!" she cried. "Wood! Wood!"

Usopp tilted his head. "Wood?"

"Did you see a piece of wood when the portal closed?"

Usopp couldn't remember, and he was extremely confused as to what wood had to do with the light.

"A piece of wood," repeated Lynn, fishing out her pendant and showing him. "It looks like this,"

Usopp examined the pendant, but shook his head. That's when Lynn noticed something strange. The large gateway piece was quivering, and the string was bending. It seemed to pointing out a direction.

"The wood is nearby," said Lynn mindlessly, following the direction the gate pointed in.

"Where are you going?" asked Nami.

Lynn stopped and blinked. "Yeah, where am I going?" then she shook her head and continued walking. "I just have a feeling maybe we should follow the gate. I don't understand what's happening to it, but I just feel that we should,"

"Perhaps the wood pieces attract or something," suggested Nami, peering at the gate's peculiar movements, and started after Lynn.

"Nami-san is so smart!" beamed Sanji, following.

The gate seemed to get more and more worked up with every step taken, and soon it was physically pulling Lynn forwards.

"The attraction's getting stronger," Lynn noted, speeding up her pace. Everyone trotted after her, wondering where they were being taken.

"Hey, where are we going?" asked Luffy.

Lynn shrugged, letting the gate lead the way.

"Isn't this strange?" said Lynn. "The gate has never done this before,"

"It might only attract when the pieces are close enough," Nami pointed out, and Lynn realised she was probably right. Lynn smiled. She appreciated the fact that this would make her job a lot easier, as instead of her having to search high and low, if they were close enough, the pieces of wood would just attract and tell her their positions.

They were amongst the late-out trick or treaters now, and they gate's string was rigid and firmly pointing forwards. They walked and walked, until they realised they were following a young boy. Lynn checked, and now confirmed the gate was pointing directly at this boy.

"Hey, I know that kid," said Usopp, thinking back. "I was talking to him earlier,"

"Does he have my wood?" wondered Lynn aloud.

"I'll ask," Usopp stepped forwards and tapped the kid on the shoulder. The boy spun around and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Mr. Pirate captain!" he exclaimed. "I thought you were eaten by the long armed monster!"

"Long armed monster?" cried Luffy, looking around. "Where?"

The crew couldn't believe their captain's stupidity.

"I'm the great captain Usopp, and no long armed monster can hurt me!" declared Usopp. "I beat him off easily!"

Both the little boy and Luffy looked up at Usopp admiringly. Lynn slapped her forehead.

"Get to the point!"

Usopp cleared his throat. "Did you by any chance pick up a small piece of wood around here?"

The boy blinked, and it was obvious he hadn't a clue what Usopp was talking about. Lynn frowned, as there was no mistaking that the gate was indeed pointing to the boy. Holding the gate closer him, Lynn tried to find out the wood's whereabouts.

"It's pointing downwards," noted Nami. "Check his shoes."

Lynn nodded and lifted the boy's foot. Indeed, stuck on the sole of his shoe, was a small shard of wood. She removed it, and let the new-found piece merge with her pendant. The little boy was now too amazed to be creeped out by the fact he had just been searched over by random strangers.

"What is that?" he asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," said Lynn, standing up and motioning for retreat. They waved a quick goodbye to the boy before setting off again. It was after they walked to the end of the road when Lynn noticed that Usopp wasn't with them.

"Where did he go?"

Nami sighed and flicked a thumb towards the road they had just come down. Usopp was still standing with the boy, boasting away about something.

"Hurry up!" shouted Lynn, but Usopp either ignored her or didn't hear. Luffy stepped forward and raised an arm.

"I'll get him," he grinned, and before Lynn could oppose, he shot out his arm and grabbed Usopp, pulling him over. The little boy, seeing the 'pirate captain' being snatched away _again_, was now officially freaked out and he ran away, screaming there was a long armed monster on the loose.

"Long armed monster?" Luffy dropped Usopp on the ground and searched around. "WHERE?"

Lynn thumped him on the head. "You'd better thank your lucky stars that no one saw you apart from that kid,"

"But where's the long armed monster?" pouted Luffy, still looking around.

* * *

"C-cool," uttered Usopp, looking around Lynn's house wide eyed.

"Now, where am I going to let you stay?" Lynn pondered.

"Why don't you just put him in the guest room along with Zoro, Luffy and Sanji?" suggested Nami, and Lynn shook her head.

"It crowded enough in there as it is. You can just sleep in the bath," she said to Usopp, and he blinked.

"Sleep in the bath? So I don't even get a bed?"

Lynn pouted. "Serves you right for bullying me with the rabbit. You're lucky I'm not making you sleep on the streets."

"Don't you still have a huge room at the end of the hall?" recalled Nami.

"That's my parents' room though."

"But they aren't home, are they?"

"Well..." Lynn didn't really want anyone else sleeping in there, as her parents could somehow always tell if someone's been in their room. She thought, and came up with a better plan. "I know!_ I_ could move into my parents' room; I'm sure they won't mind if it's just me, and Nami can use my room. The boys can slit themselves so half are in the study."

Everyone nodded approvingly at this idea, although personally, Lynn still preferred to let Usopp sleep in the bath.

"Lynn-chwan!" sang Sanji. "I would happily accompany you in that big lonely bed at night!"

"Hell no, you perv," rejected Lynn.

"When will your parents be back?" frowned Nami. "If they come back then we can't stay here anymore, can we?"

Lynn pulled a face. She hadn't really thought about it before, but she realised Nami was right. "I don't think they'll be back till next week," said Lynn. "We'll think of something before then."

Nami nodded, and more at ease now, the crew settled for an early night in after a busy day.

* * *

The next day

"…and so by adding a small amount of potassium to the acid..."

Luffy yawned as the chemistry teacher's voice droned on in the back ground. He was tired, but the lab they were in didn't even have the decency to provide chairs to fall asleep in, so instead they had to sit on stools. And stools weren't great for leaning back on, as Luffy had found out earlier from experience when he fell off. He wasn't particularly interested in the 'experiment' that the teacher was talking about, so there wasn't really any harm in not paying attention was there?

"Hurry up Luffy," Lynn poked him in the side and he looked up. Everyone in the room was putting on a strange white cloak and was beginning to position themselves around separate work benches.

"What's going on?" Luffy asked.

"We're doing an experiment, weren't you listening?" Miriam popped up from behind him.

"Not really," said Luffy, scratching his head, and Lynn didn't like the sound of that.

"Well, it's a rather dangerous experiment, so you stand back and watch, ok?"

Luffy nodded, but his attention was drifting to what the rest of the class were doing. Paired into groups of two or three, everyone was setting out pots of strange liquids and small solids.

"Ok, acid, potassium, goggles, gloves, we're all set," said Miriam, and Luffy turned and saw that the girls had set out similar equipment.

"So what do we do again?" asked Lynn to Miriam.

"Put a tiny bit of potassium into this tub of acid, and write down results," she replied, holding up a small pot of pebble-like solids and pointing to the huge tub of clear liquid on the worktop.

"Put the pebbles into the water, eh?" Luffy grinned, snatching away the pot of potassium quickly. "That sounds easy!"

"NO!" the whole class shouted in unison, but it was too late. Into the acid went a WHOLE jar of potassium... and ... BOOM.

* * *

Lynn couldn't help sniggering all through lunch. The explosion may have been extremely dangerous, but the expression that the chemistry teacher wore when it happened was priceless! They endured a stern telling off and threats for detention, but nothing else, as it wasn't really Luffy's fault that he didn't know anything about chemistry. Lynn found it very amusing that they got away with almost blowing up the school so easily!

"I'm kind of worried," frowned Miriam, who was the only one fretting over this morning's events. They sat in the empty classroom after coming back from the canteen.

"About what?" shrugged Lynn. "We've already been told off, they can't punish us because it wasn't our fault. What else can they do?"

"This morning reminded me of that time Usopp nearly blew himself up during his gunpowder experiment!" Luffy grinned to himself. "Now that was funny!"

"What? Blowing yourself up, or Usopp blowing himself up?" Lynn asked.

Luffy didn't get a chance to answer. Without a warning, a crowd of fan-girls flooded into the room and smothered him.

"I heard what you did in chemistry!"

"You're such a rebel!"

"Even blowing things up, you're so cute!"

"I wish I was there!"

"Are you scared? I heard Mr Miller's going to call your parents!"

Lynn's ears twitched at the last statement. Mr Miller was their chemistry teacher; and he was going to do WHAT?

"But his parents are dead!" she shouted over the noise, referring to the lie which covered up Luffy's identity.

"He must mean Luffy's guardians then," shrugged Jess, who was the one that made the statement in the first place.

"Then technically, that would be... my parents..." Lynn's voice trailed off. This. Was. Not. Good. She dragged Jess out of the crowd. "Your mum's the history teacher, put in a good word for me and make sure Mr Miller DOES NOT call home," she said desperately.

"Yeah, I suppose," Jess muttered, but her attention was drifting to Luffy, wanting to be near him. This gave Lynn a good idea.

"How about," Lynn suggested with a somewhat evil smile. "If you make sure Mr Miller doesn't call my parents, I'll get you a date with Luffy tonight,"

All the noise in the room suddenly died out and everyone, including Luffy, stared at Lynn.

"WHAAAAT?" everyone cried at once.

"A date with Luffy?"

"I want a date with Luffy!"

"No, me!"

"I asked first!"

"Are you kidding, I was here before you!"

Jess pulled Lynn and Luffy out of the room, shutting the door and trapping in the rest of the fan-club. Then she grinned. "That sounds like a deal!"

Lynn smiled back, and the two confirmed their pact with a handshake. Luffy's eyes flickered back and forth between the two girls, confused as to what was going on, yet had a feeling he was being passed around or something.

"Hey wait," a girl called through the door to Jess. "Don't you have a swimming lesson this afternoon? You can't go on a date!"

"Oh, yeah," Jess frowned. She had a swimming lesson which she couldn't miss. But she paused, and she thought. Swimming... swimming costumes... Jess grinned, imagining to herself the wonderful sight of Luffy in swimming trunks.

"Why don't you come swimming with me?" she suggested.

Luffy backed up a bit. "Umm, I can't swim."

"I could teach you!" she cried with delight.

"I really can't…"

"He's a hammer in water, honestly," said Lynn, waving a hand objectively.

"He could always learn," protested Jess.

"Actually, he can't."

"Why? You can come too."

"That's not the problem..." Lynn didn't know how to explain, so Luffy stepped in for her.

"I can never swim because I ate a dev-" Lynn clamped a hand over his mouth before he could say any more.

"He's afraid of water," corrected Lynn. Well, it was kind of true.

"Remember our deal?" Jess pouted, her voice containing just a hint of threateningness. Lynn grew quiet, and backed off.

"I sink in water!" whimpered Luffy.

Jess just beamed at how cute he looked when he whimpered. "Don't worry I'll save you!" _'And give you CPR if needed!'_ she thought happily, lost in her fantasies.

"But..."

"Ok, I'll meet you at the swimming pool after school!" Jess cut him off and ran away before he could oppose anymore. Luffy now turned to Lynn, a helpless look in his eyes. Lynn shrugged, also helpless.

"I guess you'll be needing a swimming costume then..."

* * *

"YOU DID WHAT?"

Lynn held her mobile at arm's length, afraid that Nami's scream would deafen her.

"You agreed to take Luffy swimming, even thought you know he's a hammer in water?"

Lynn shrugged, even though she knew Nami couldn't see her.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? Let me talk to Luffy."

Lynn glanced over at Luffy being chased around the classroom by his fans. "He's, err... kind of busy."

Nami sighed heavily into the phone.

"Look, I didn't have a choice," said Lynn, "Jess is the only one that can wriggle me out of this. If I didn't agree with her, then our teacher would call my parents, and if he called my parents, would find out that Luffy isn't really my relative, and that would lead to a whoooole load of problems,"

"I know what you mean, but couldn't you have come up with a better resolve?"

"Kind of too late now," said Lynn sheepishly. "So that's why I'm calling you. Can you pop out to the shops and buy Luffy a swimming costume? My purse is in my dressing table drawer,"

Lynn could almost feel Nami's devilish grin. "So you're going to tell me your credit card pin?"

"It's not like I have a choice now," Lynn then leant closed to her mobile and whispered her pin to Nami.

"Alright," Nami said, pleased. "And I'm coming too, to check out this 'swimming pool' you're talking about."

"I suppose if you came you could help keep an eye on Luffy," admitted Lynn. Since Miriam was busy tonight, Lynn needed help to make sure Luffy didn't drown or do something stupid. "All right then, you can buy yourself a swim suit too. And don't forget to bring me mines. I'll meet you after school at the empty field, yeah?"

"Yeah. See you." and with that, Nami hung up the house phone, and Lynn sighed as she slid her mobile back into her pocket.

* * *

At the empty field after school, Lynn and Luffy met Nami; but it wasn't just Nami that was there. Lynn stared at her, and then looked at Usopp, Sanji and Zoro.

"What are they doing here?" Lynn asked, pointing.

"They wanted to come," Nami shrugged.

"The shit cook said he could swim more laps than me, so I need to prove him wrong," said Zoro.

"Lynn-chwan!" beamed Sanji. "I bet you'd love to see me beating this dumbass marimo in our race!"

"I could swim you out any day," snarled Zoro to Sanji, who glared back.

"The great captain Usopp needs to protect his crew from the mysterious 'swimming pool'," declared Usopp proudly.

Nami raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you just wanted to try the water slides?" Usopp quickly shushed Nami, but Lynn had already heard.

"Wait, how do you know our pool has water slides?" Lynn asked curiously.

"Google is such a handy thing," smiled Nami.

"Since when did you know how to use internet?"

Nami rolled her eyes. "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. I mean, I saw you using Google for your homework a couple of times, so I just copied you, typed something in requesting information of a local swimming pool, and bingo! Maps, photos, prices, everything I need!"

"Smart," Lynn admitted.

Nami smirked. "The Jacuzzi doesn't sound half bad either."

Lynn looked Nami up and down, and realised she was wearing a new, stylish outfit and carrying a new bag.

"I said you could buy swimming costumes, not go on a shopping spree!" Lynn let out an exasperated sigh.

"It's alright, you can trust me, I'm good with money," Nami reassured her. "It's not like I'll misuse our budget or anything."

Lynn nodded, hoping Nami was right. "So do you guys have swimming costumes?" she asked Usopp and the squabbling-non-stop Zoro and Sanji.

They nodded, and held up a plastic bag.

"And you know what to expect?"

More nodding. Lynn smiled, and led the way.

* * *

When they arrived outside the building, Luffy pressed up against the giant glass panels and peeked into the swimming pool. It didn't look at all scary! In fact, it looked rather fun! Especially the large spiralling tubes that people slid down and the different coloured fun floats that small children played on.

"That looks cool!" Luffy exclaimed.

Lynn smiled, also peering into the pool. "As long as Jess doesn't make you go in the deep end, I think you'll be ok,"

"Um, he's already gone in," noted Nami, and Lynn slapped her forehead. Racing in after him, she found Luffy pressed up against the glass on the vending machine.

"Is it just me, or do you really enjoy pressing up against glass?" wondered Lynn aloud as she peeled him off. Luffy continued to stare longingly at the food.

"I wish they had meat in there," said Luffy.

Nami walked up behind him and peered into the machine too. "You know, I quite fancy a drink of orange juice."

"Yes! At your service Nami-swan!" Sanji beamed, and then raised a leg to break the glass and get his precious Nami a drink.

"ARH! DON'T!" Lynn shouted, shoving Sanji out of the way. "You don't break the glass, just put money into the slot!"

Sanji caught his balance and blinked at Lynn. "Oh, ok, whatever you say Lynn-chan."

Lynn fished out a couple of coins and handed them to Nami, telling her what to do with them in order to get her drink. As everyone else watched this interesting process, Sanji's attention was drifting to the pretty girls in bikinis. He could get a good view of inside the pool where he stood, and he was getting more and more eager to be with those goddesses inside. Seeing a sign that said 'changing rooms', he headed over to where the arrow on the sign pointed.

"Let's go already," he called over to his friends, walking through one of the two doors.

"Wait!" yelled Lynn, but it was too late; he was gone. She sighed, and counted down.

"5...4..."

Sanji walked down the corridor, until he came into a room. Then he stopped. He stared. The shower-room of half naked women and girls stared back.

"3...2..."

His eyes burst into love hearts, and he managed a cry of 'MELLORINE!' before he collapsed in a fountain of his own naval blood.

"1..."

The piercing screams cut through the air and Lynn had to cover her ears. Nami, Zoro, Luffy and Usopp glanced over, wondering what was happening. Lynn sighed, walked into the women's changing room, and dragged out a 'dead' Sanji by the legs. Nami and Usopp slapped their foreheads when they realised what happened, and Zoro just rolled his eyes. Luffy was the only one still clueless.

"Who did this to you?" cried Luffy, rushing over to Sanji.

"Mellorine..." Sanji muttered happily, eyes still closed.

"Right," growled Luffy, pushing up his sleeves. "I'm going to kick this 'mellorine' person's ass for hurting my friend."

"No you don't," sighed Lynn, catching a hold of his collar. "He got what he deserved, that's all."

Luffy blinked.

"Just go and get changed," she said, shoving him forwards towards the right changing room. "I'll take care of things here."

Zoro and Usopp walked over and both helped to get Luffy into the changing room. When they were gone, Nami and Lynn leant over Sanji, wondering what they were going to do with this unconscious perverted cook. Nami acted first. She grabbed a bucket and poured cold water over his head, making him jump up.

"Where did you get that bucket of water?" Lynn asked, but after noticing the cleaning lady with a mop not far away, searching high and low for something, she pretty much figured it out for herself.

"Ah... the joy..." Sanji muttered dreamily, thinking back. Nami whacked him on the head.

"Go and get changed, idiot," she said, shoving him into the changing room. Then she turned back to Lynn with a sigh. "I've got a bad feeling."

Lynn shrugged. "It'll work out somehow," she said, and they both went to change.

* * *

"You ready Nami?" Lynn knocked on the door of a changing cubicle. The door opened, and Nami stepped out, wearing an orange bikini swimsuit, which was pretty much just string.

"Like it?" Nami did a little twirl. Lynn grinned and gave her two thumbs up. The swimsuit indeed looked great on Nami and much suited to her personality. Lynn on the other hand, was wearing a turquoise takini patterned with white and blue swirls; much less revealing, and more pretty and cute than sexy. Putting their clothes away in lockers, a loud crash, followed by a splash and shouting caused the girls' heads to turn. Running towards the direction of the uprising noise, they saw Sanji having a stare-down with a tough, bald teenager, and Zoro swimming towards a sinking Luffy.

"Oh, just perfect," moaned Lynn, when she saw the face of the teen. It was none other than Luffy's arch-enemy; Cain. If Cain was here, it was no wonder Luffy was in the water.

"I didn't know you couldn't swim, dork," Cain called to Luffy, who was now being carried to land by Zoro.

"Whoa," gasped Luffy, coughing up water.

"What was that for?" demanded Sanji. "Who the hell are you?"

"It's none of your concern," said Cain, and he dived into the pool and swam away.

Sanji glared after him and considered jumping in and giving chase.

"Leave it," said Luffy. "I'm ok."

"I knew it was a bad idea to let Luffy come swimming!" declared a voice from behind. The crew turned and saw Usopp, who had been lurking by the wall, approach.

"What were you doing over there?" asked Lynn. "You weren't scared of Cain were you?"

"I most certainly wasn't!"

Lynn rolled her eyes because he most certain was.

"You have no right to look down on me!" frowned Usopp. "_You'r_e scared of _rabbit_s!"

Without a word, Lynn shoved Usopp in the water.

"I really hate you, you know that?" she scowled, watching him drop with a splash. "Tease me about my phobia again, and I really will do something nasty one of these days."

"Wow," muttered Luffy, sitting up. "Scary." he got up and picked his straw hat from the ground.

"You may want to put that safely away," said Nami. "It'll get wet."

She reached and took his hat from him, and Luffy didn't resist. She then handed it to Lynn, who held the key to their locker, for her to put it away. Sanji's eyes turned into love hearts when he noticed the girls' swimming costumes.

"MELLORINE!" he cried, circling them. They rolled their eyes.

"LUUUUUFFYYYYY!" a sugary voice called. Luffy turned in the voice's direction, and didn't have time to react before Jess jumped on him and gave him a hug. "I'm back from my swimming lesson! I'm so glad you came!"

"You didn't really give us a choice," muttered Lynn under her breath. Sanji, on the other hand, fell in love again.

"You look beautiful, mademoiselle!" he said.

Jess smiled politely. "I believe we've met before. You're Luffy's cousin, right?"

"Mellorine! You remembered!" he beamed, even though he wasn't. Jess just smiled, keeping her arms around Luffy, who was trying to wriggle away from the freaky girl. Zoro, Nami and Usopp raised an eyebrow, wonder if they were missing something.

"It's not often that I get you all to myself!" Jess grinned, nuzzling into Luffy's shoulder even more. "Not with that stupid fan-club of yours. Did I mention how great you look with out a top on?"

Sanji flinched. Luffy has a fan-club? Out of all the people, Luffy? His idiotic captain who's only passion is for meat and being pirate king?

"Let's go Luffy!" said Jess, smiling cheerfully, dragging him off to the shallow end so she could teach him how to swim. Sanji fumed jealously at the attention Luffy was getting instead of him.

Lynn laughed at Sanji's depression and Luffy's freaking out and went to put Luffy's hat away.

* * *

"Ah!" sighed Nami in pleasure as she sat herself into the bubbling Jacuzzi and relaxed, "this is the life," she looked over at the other separate pools; at Luffy, who paddled in the shallow end, trying to keep afloat but failing; at Jess who stood beaming at him as if he were her precious little gem; at Zoro and Sanji, swimming away like maniacs up and down lanes; at Usopp who was clambering to the top of the tallest diving board in the small diving pool; and at Lynn who followed him to the edge.

"That's pretty high," swallowed Usopp, backing up slightly.

"It's only about 9 meters," said Lynn, looking over the end down at the crispy blue pool below them.

"And that's not high?" demanded Usopp, now trembling a little, considering retreat.

"Not really," replied Lynn casually. She wasn't afraid of heights; in fact she found that standing high up made her feel calm. Usopp peaked over the edge and quivered.

"I think I might try the water slides instead," he said, backing away. The queue for the diving board was getting longer by the second, and Lynn rolled her eyes at Usopp's cowardice.

"Don't roll your eyes at me," insisted Usopp. "How can you be not intimidated by this height, yet scared of a fluffy rab-"

Lynn kicked him over the diving board before he could finish his sentence, and the now impatient queue behind her clapped in relief.

Usopp flailed his arms as he plummeted towards the water below. He now realised it was a bad idea annoying Lynn whilst at the top of a diving board; but realised it a moment too late. He crashed into the pool and because he wasn't in a proper diving position, got a major wedgie and stinging sensations burning all through his bottom and legs. Wincing in pain, he tried to swim to surface.

Meanwhile, at the top of the board, Lynn watched as Usopp collided with a satisfying splash. She then leapt upwards, in perfect diving posture, and dove straight at the spot where Usopp landed. As she submerged she sent huge ripples across the water and caused Usopp to sink again just before he reached surface; resulting in great amounts of water swallowed. Lynn surfaced again, quite triumphant, while Usopp surfaced a few seconds later, coughing and spluttering, in quite a pitiful state.

"That ought to teach you," sneered Lynn.

"This water tastes strange," Usopp grimaced, spitting out mouthfuls.

"That's because it has chlorine in it."

"Chlorine?"

"It's a poisonous substance, and is deadly if consumed by humans. Enjoy your last moments," said Lynn, climbing out of the diving pool and leaving Usopp to panic on his own. She headed over to where Luffy and Jess were.

"Having fun?" she asked, jumping into the pool beside Jess. Jess nodded enthusiastically. Lynn looked over at Luffy who was trying, and succeeding for once, to keep afloat with the help of a huge float. He was hugging it and clinging on for dear life, even if the shallow end was only just over a meter deep; not the most elegant thing, but at least he was above water. "Wow, Luffy isn't drowning," commented Lynn, quite impressed.

* * *

Usopp rushed over to Nami, wailing that he was going to die because he drank poisonous water.

"Oh god, Usopp, don't believe everything she tells you," said Nami rolling her eyes. "She's just winding you up."

Usopp blinked. "Then are you sure I'm not going to die?"

"I'm quite sure," confirmed Nami, as she knew if there was any real danger, Lynn have told her already. "Besides, if that water was poisonous, Luffy would be long dead."

"How come I never thought of that?" Usopp now scowled, knowing he had been duped.

* * *

Zoro and Sanji were still swimming up and down the lanes fanatically, and their strangely intense competition aura was what attracted their audience; and audience of mainly girls who found the two rather hot.

"I'd say the blonde one is cuter."

"His curly eyebrows are so sexy!"

"Nah, the one with green hair is definitely the hottest."

"Yeah, check out his muscles!"

"Both of them are seriously fit you ask me."

Zoro and Sanji touched the side of the pool at the same time, and both surfaced to face each other's scowling faces.

"I won that one marimo," snarled Sanji.

"In your dreams; I got here before you did," Zoro shot back. Their eyes burned in one another as they tried to hold back the urge to attack.

"Ohmigod!" a girl squealed from the small crowd that watched the two argue. "Even their bickering is so stunning!"

They both turned and on seeing the audience that had gathered, had two very different reactions.

'Why the hell are they looking at us like that?' thought Zoro, rather freaked out.

"MELLORINE!" cried Sanji, who couldn't be more thrilled. He skimmed, yes skimmed, over the top of the water over to the girls.

"Oi, ero-cook, what about our race?" demanded Zoro, annoyed that Sanji had just abandoned their contest.

"Ladies come before shitty marimos," said Sanji, clearly taking Zoro very lightly. "Besides, you lost fair and square."

"You're the one that lost curly brow!" snarled Zoro and Sanji fumed.

"Just admit defeat loser!"

"Who are you calling loser, bastard? You wanna fight?"

"Oh, bring it on."

"What's happening?" asked Lynn, who had swam over from the other side of the pool. "Sanji, Zoro, why do you two look like you're about to kill each other?"

"I beat him in our 50 lap race, but the marimo said he won," said Sanji.

Lynn sweat dropped. 50 laps? These guys were really something… "Well that's easy," she shrugged. "Just have a rematch."

"Yeah, a rematch!" squealed the fan-girls, eager to see the two men in action again. Lynn turned and blinked when she saw the crowd; how she managed only JUST to notice them now will always remain a mystery.

Sanji and Zoro began to race furiously again, and the crowd cheered.

"GO ZORO!"

"GO SANJI!"

Lynn raised an eyebrow. "Is this the winter Olympics or something?" then she thought over, and added, "But even the winter Olympics don't do 50 lap races…"

A huge splash and screams caught Lynn's attention. She looked over, and saw Luffy in the middle of the pool, thrashing and sinking, his float a few meters away. The two competing idiots were too busy to notice that their captain was in trouble.

"Luffy!" cried Lynn, diving underwater and swimming over. She saw Luffy's wriggling body amongst the clear blue, getting weaker and weaker as he sank. Hooking an arm around his waist, she dragged him to surface.

"That was close!" Luffy coughed and spluttered out a ton of water.

"Are you ok? What happened?" asked Lynn, helping him over and onto the side of the pool. Then she looked around and saw a sniggering Cain not too far away and gritted her teeth in realisation. "Why are you in the middle of the pool anyway?" she demanded, more concerned than angry.

Luffy coughed again, and Lynn waited for him to get his breath back. "Well, someone was saying there was food in the middle of the pool, and I thought as long as I sat on the float, I'd be ok."

Lynn pinched his arm. "And you believed it? What are you, an idiot?" actually, he was, but she looked at his pitiful state and couldn't bring herself to scold him any more. "That was probably just Cain winding you up. Where's Jess?"

"Oh my god, Luffy! Are you alright?" Jess cried, suddenly appearing from behind them, looking like she had been running.

"Speaking of the devil," said Lynn, rolling her eyes. "I _told_ you he can't swim! You're not supposed to leave him on his own!"

"Luffy-darling I'm so sorry!" Jess threw her arms around him, shoving Lynn out of the way and almost causing her to fall into the pool. "Do you need CPR?"

Lynn steadied herself from the shove, and scowled at Jess. "No, I think he's fine now. Where were you?"

"I got a call," she replied. "My mum says I have to go home now."

'That's a relief,' thought Lynn rolling her eyes.

"But I don't want to go home!" wailed Jess. "I want to stay here with Luffy!"

"...yeah... you're going home; now!" said Lynn. "And don't forget your part of the deal."

"I won't," Jess stood up and waved a pained goodbye to Luffy. "I'll miss you!"

Lynn watched, and sighed in relief when Jess disappeared from sight. "Thank god she's gone. Now we can go home; away from the dangers of this pool."

"But first, I want to try what Usopp's doing!" Luffy exclaimed, pointing at Usopp who slid his way down a wavy slide.

"No, you cant," said Lynn, keeping a hold on his arm to make sure he didn't go off. "That slide finishes with a drop into the pool, so unless you want to drown anytime soon, I suggest you stay away from it."

Luffy pouted, but wasn't keen on swallowing any more water so didn't object. Lynn was actually rather disappointed that Usopp had figured out her lie so quickly.

"Let's get the others and get going now," she said, standing up.

* * *

Zoro and Sanji's race was again, a tie, and neither chose to admit it. This time, though, it wasn't just the two of them arguing over the fact; it was two teams.

"Zoro won!" shouted the Zoro-fans in unison.

"No, Sanji won!" the Sanji-fans opposed.

"Shut up you bitches!" they screamed at each other, and a furious group-catfight ensued, much to Sanji's delight.

* * *

Lynn, Luffy, and the newly fetched Nami and Usopp headed over to Sanji and Zoro to declare their leave, but all stopped and stared at the riot that was going on. Over there, was Sanji, surrounded by girls and in heaven; over there, Zoro, backing away, terrified, from his creepy gang of fan-girls; and behind them, a small group of girls continued to bitch-slap each other over who had won the race. The life guard was trying to break them up, but was only caught in the middle of their brawl.

"My my, doesn't this look familiar," Lynn rolled her eyes, and Luffy nodded in agreement, relieved that he wasn't the one being targeted this time.

"These guys are magnets for trouble," Nami shrugged helplessly.

"HEY!" Lynn shouted over to the two fan-clubs. "You're wasting your time! They're actually gay lovers!"

"EEEH?" everyone jumped a meter in shock at that random and disturbing statement. All eyes turned to Zoro and Sanji, who looked at each other, holding back the urge to puke. The straw hats then turned to Lynn, and she shrugged.

"I'm just trying to get their fan-clubs to go away," she said in her own defence. '_And those yaoi-fan-girls would be so proud of me_,' she thought with a snigger.

"You're not really gay are you?" the crowd of girls asked Sanji and Zoro in a rather doubtful tone.

"Well, I live only for the ladies," replied Sanji, putting his arms around two nearest girls. "But I can't say the same about the marimo."

"What was that, eyebrow freak?" Zoro snarled, and the girls squealed at their super hot squabbling.

"Ok... that didn't work," said Lynn, sweatdropping. "I'm all out of plans. Your turn Nami."

"Watch and learn," Nami flicked her hair and walked over to the two men. She stood over them calmly, then suddenly and sharply, struck both of them hard on the head, causing large bumps to rise. "And that's how it should be done," said Nami, snapping her fingers and indicating for the guys to follow her if they didn't want any more physical abuse. Sanji trotted after her quite gleefully, whilst Zoro grumbled away about bitches and crazy assholes. None of the fan-girls dared follow, in fear that they too would be hurt by this fierce, orange headed young woman.

"Nice," praised an impressed Lynn, giving Nami a thumbs up. Nami smirked. "I'll go and grab us some towels," volunteered Lynn, walking towards the changing rooms. But she had only taken two steps when the siren blasted out from above her head, making her jump.

"EVERYONE GET OUT!" the life guard's voice boomed out from his megaphone. "EVACUATE THE AREA!"

"What's going on?" shouted Lynn, shoving her way over to her friends through the stampedes of people who flooded towards the emergency exits. She found them staring wide-eyed at the pool. Lynn's jaw dropped when she saw what they were looking at.

A huge shadow, lurking under the surface of the water. Since when did THAT get there?

"W-what IS that?" Nami and Usopp cried.

"Sea king!" exclaimed Luffy hungrily.

"It's too small to be a sea king," noted Zoro, standing quite calmly.

"Whatever it is, it's not from our world," said Lynn, looking around to check for any for any portals under the water the thing may have come through. She noticed an unmistakeable light shape towards the bottom of the pool and grinned. This new portal was gigantic; at least 5 meters in diameter! From her experience, she had gathered that the size of the portal depended on the size of the gate shard; which meant this piece of wood should be huge!

"Stop grinning to your self like an idiot!" demanded Nami. "What IS that?"

Lynn shrugged, and Nami scowled at her calm attitude. The water surface broke as a giant figure began to rise from the depth. Its shiny, lime coloured skin pushed out and every remaining evacuee couldn't help but stop and stare with shocked, if not terrified, expressions.

"Whoa," exclaimed Lynn, blinking at the rising monster. "Cool."

"HOW IS THAT COOL?" screamed Usopp, pulling at his curls.

"But it IS pretty cool," said Lynn, still staring. "And anyway, it doesn't look like it means any harm, there's no need to be scared."

"Says the girl who's terrified of rabbits," huffed Usopp and Lynn whacked him, considering on feeding the monster Usopp-sushi.

The monster was almost fully out of the water now, revealing its disturbing features for all to see; a single, large eye almost the size of half its head, slimy lime-green dotted skin, eight thick tentacles wriggling away, partially still underwater. It had no mouth; or at least none that they could see for the time being.

"I think it's your relative, Zoro," said Lynn, looking at Zoro's green hair, and he scowled at her.

"Octopus!" shouted Luffy, pointing and not in the least scared.

"Octopuses taste best when chopped and stir fried with a touch of soy sauce," said Sanji, looking up at it.

The octopus flinched, as if understanding the fact that Sanji was planning to cook it, and decided to make the first move. It let out a strange screech/howl and lashed its tentacles about wildly.

"You've made it mad!" wailed Nami, shaking Sanji's arm furiously.

Everyone who had stood staring now went crazy and rushed toward the exits, screaming and panicking, not planning on waiting around to get eaten.

"Ok… maybe it isn't so harmless," said Lynn, backing away. "I think maybe it's best we went and hid for the time being."

"Uh huh," agreed Nami and Usopp, and the three of them went and ducked behind the Jacuzzi. From where they crouched, they could see a perfect view of the ruckus going on.

The octopus reached out and grabbed a few hostages; six, in fact, including Zoro and the life guard. Nami slapped her forehead, unable to believe one of the monster trio had simply been snatched.

"This would be so much easier if I had my katana," growled Zoro, struggling. "But a certain shrimpy bitch made me leave it at home..."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SHRIMP?" yelled Lynn, jumping out furiously from her hiding spot. She realised her mistake immediately, but the octopus had already seen her; and not _just_ her for that matter.

"Run for it!" screamed Usopp, but the octopus was already making its move before they could do so. Seeing that they had no chance to escape, they grabbed the nearest objects they could find and prepared for battle against the two remaining tentacles.

"Take that!" shouted Lynn, swatting away, batter style, the tentacle reaching for her with a giant float. It didn't do a lot of damage, but at least she was temporarily safe. Nami found a metal pole lying around, and whacked at the other tentacle. At both girls bashed away like mad, Usopp breathed out in relief when he assumed there were no other tentacles left. But boy, was he wrong. Another tentacle appeared from nowhere and snatched the sharpshooter up off the ground.

"WHAT? I thought octopuses had 8 tentacles?" he cried, wriggling about.

Lynn and Nami were stunned for a moment, wondering where on earth the extra tentacle came from, and were both caught off guard when two more suddenly swiped them away too. Now, the octopus thing had 11 tentacles visible, and possibly many more yet unrevealed.

Luffy raised his arm to attack and free his captured comrades, but yet another tentacle snatched him from behind and lifted him into the air along with the others.

"Damn!" shouted Luffy, struggling in the octopus's grasp. "This thing has too many testicles!"

"That's tentacles!" Nami shouted back, correcting his rude mistake even in her tight situation.

"Let go you slimy bastard!" screamed Lynn furiously, swatting at the octopus. It just tightened its grasp even more.

Luffy was getting annoyed now, and he couldn't restrain himself anymore.

"Gomu gomu no pistol!" he yelled, stretching his arm and throwing a distant punch straight at the monster's eye. The monster screeched in pain and loosened all grips on the hostages. Everyone dropped into the water below with a splash; apart from Luffy. He stretched and grabbed onto the top of the diving board, pulling himself away from the pool. Nobody apart from his crew saw this, as everyone else was blinded by the water that surrounded them. Lynn and Nami pushed their heads out of the surface of the water and gasped for breath as they swam over to the pool's sides. Lynn glanced over at Luffy, sitting safely on top of the diving board and breathed out in relief. Quickly looking around, she saw that there were still some people not evacuated. As much as she wanted to see Luffy in action, she didn't want to bring Luffy's powers to notice of the public eye.

"Sanji!" she shouted over, pointing at the monster. "Can you take care of this big guy?"

Sanji immediately jumped up. "Yes Lynn-chan!" he beamed, and leapt up to the octopus and landed a hard kick right on its head, sending it crashing into the pool. People in the water screamed, and began clambering out of the pool and sprinting away for dear life. Luffy stood up; wanting a part of the action, but Sanji stopped him.

"Leave this one to me," he called, and Luffy sat back down again reluctantly.

"Get him Sanji-kun!" cheered Nami, ducking behind the Jacuzzi again with Lynn and Usopp.

"Send him back into the portal before it closes!" Lynn shouted, enjoying the show from afar.

Panicking, the octopus looked for another hostage, and saw a figure dashing towards the exit not far away. Reaching out, it grabbed him; and the unlucky guy just happened to be none other than Cain.

"Let go you asshole!" he yelled, squirming about.

After all that action from earlier, the octopus suddenly realised he was kind of hungry, and glanced at Cain with a famished look in his eyes. Slowly, it opened its mouth to reveal rows of surprisingly razor sharp teeth. Cain flinched as he was raised to the octopus's mouth. The smell that invaded his nostrils was that of rotten eggs and garbage, with just a hint of the reek of dead bodies.

"You need breath freshener, you bastard!" he insulted, although shaking in terror at the fact he was about to be eaten.

Sanji scowled. Although he was never fond of this boy who continuously bothered his captain, he wasn't mean enough to watch him to get eaten. He jumped up to attack, but he octopus swung its remaining tentacles at him. They failed to hit him, as he jumped onto each tentacle, using them as a staircase to the monsters head, but they definitely slowed him down, as he seemed to be pulled backwards with every step.

Cain cursed again, and bit into the monsters flesh. It tasted awful and filled him with nausea, but at least caused the thing some pain. The octopus screeched, tightening its grasp on the boy, just too hard. Cain fell limp as he felt the breath squeezed out of him and saw stars twinkling before his eyes.

"Gomu gomu no Rocket!"

Cain turned weakly, eyes half closed, and saw Luffy catapulting towards him, his arms… stretching? No, that can't be right. The octopus screamed out in pain as a missile like item plunged into its flesh, causing him to loosen his grip on Cain. Cain felt himself fall towards the monsters mouth; but not for long, as two hands firmly gripped his arms, flinging him towards the safe area on top of the diving board. He opened his eyes, just enough to see Luffy's arms snapping back into place from their stretch and tumbling onto the water below as the price to their bodies' place exchange. So he wasn't mistaken. Luffy's arms DID stretch. But if recalled rightly, wasn't Luffy a hammer in water?

'What on earth is he? And why the hell did he save me if he couldn't even swim?' thought Cain as he blacked out.

Zoro leapt into the pool to save his sinking captain as Sanji glared at the octopus.

"You shouldn't do that!" he snarled, speeding up his pace and making his way up to the octopus's head in seconds. "Let's finish this quickly."

He jumped off the tentacle and flipped in the air rapidly to gain speed as he plummeted down. "Concasse!" he shouted, delivering the powerful kick on the centre of the octopus's head. The blow made the monster screech as it was sent down beyond the water, sending up mini tsunamis all around the pool. Sanji landed smoothly on the side as he watched the octopus plunge back into the portal, seconds before it closed.

"YAY!" cheered the trio crouching behind the Jacuzzi. "NICE ONE SANJI!"

Sanji grinned, pleased, at the two ladies enjoying the show. Lynn peeked over at the water and saw that the piece of wood was floating towards the edge of the pool. She walked over and picked it up, shaking the water off it.

Luffy, at this moment, was being hauled onto dry land by Zoro, and he sat up, coughing up water.

"I missed the action," he sounded rather disappointed. Lynn dashed over to see if he was alright.

"Remind me never EVER to take you swimming again no matter what anyone says," said Lynn, feeling pretty guilty. "It's just too dangerous. You nearly drowned 5 times today!"

"I totally agree," said Usopp, coming up from behind.

"You have no right to agree," frowned Lynn. "You were hiding the whole time,"

"Hey, you almost got us killed when you revealed our position!" yelled Usopp.

"Well I saved your ass, so shut up and be grateful!" Lynn snapped back.

"What? You were snatched up too!"

"But at least I fought the damn thing! Unlike some people who stood there and let two girls do the fighting! You're just a scaredy cat weakling!"

"I am not!"

"Yes you are! You're just a puny freak who won't show appreciation!"

"Well you're just a stupid SHRIMP who's scared of RABBITS!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth, he was covered in a frenzy of bitch-slaps and shoved into the pool.

"BURN IN HELL JERK!" shouted Lynn, and stomped off. She so much preferred Usopp as an anime character...

* * *

Next time: a substitute cook, a dangerous dinner and maybe an awkward situation and a confrontation at school if I can fit it into the next chapter.

My next update should in just under a week, but if I don't get enough reviews, I may just get lazy and not put it up XP I want at least 5 reviews guys, at least 5! So you know what to do! Press that review button! I really love reviews, you know that? Anything'll do!


	9. Deadly Dinners and Investigations

Disclaimer: nope, don't own One Piece, and that's all folks!

Bugs Bunny: what's up doc?

Lynn: AAARH! A crazy talking rabbit! _*runs away screaming*_

SS: …

BB: …?

SS: you've scared off my OC and you're not even IN the bloody story!

BB: my, you're rude.

SS: _*gets out a gun* _shut up and get lost.

BB: it's not rabbit season yet! _*sticks a carrot up the gun and blocks it*_

SS: Fine then, I'll try something else. _*snaps fingers and summons Luffy*_

Luffy: _*drools*_ FOOOOOOOOD!

BB: ... ok, you win... _* hops away*_

Luffy: _*chases BB with a knife and fork in hand*_

(Ok… sorry if today's disclaimer was too random! My sister is watching Looney Tunes down stairs, and all I can hear is that annoyingly catchy theme song, so I've just got bugs bunny and daffy duck stuck in my head. XP And I apologize for the late update too. I said I was going to update in a week, but I caught the tummy bug and couldn't quite get up to speed, sorry -_-')**

* * *

**

Chapter 9- Deadly Dinners and Investigations

Lynn opened her locker, shivering from the cold, wearing just her drenched swimming suit. The first thing she grabbed was her gate pendant, and let the newfound piece of wood merge with it. The new piece was roughly the same size as the previous pieces added together, and Lynn smiled, forgetting her anger at Usopp for a moment. But she knew they had to hurry and get out of here, because a sea monster appearing in the local pool is most definitely something that'll make the headlines tonight! She wasn't keen on waiting around to find out if the police will come and investigate or not.

"The boys have gone to get changed," said Nami as she walked up behind Lynn, and was responded to by having a load of clothes dumped into her arms.

"Let's hurry and get changed too so we can get out of here," said Lynn, walking into the nearest changing cubical and closing the door behind her.

* * *

"_Robin! What are we going to do?" wailed Chopper, sitting cross-legged on deck across from the archaeologist. Robin frowned, not knowing how to answer the poor, frightened young reindeer doctor._

_Ever since Usopp also disappeared unexpectedly, Chopper had not had a moment of peace at heart. All his crew mates were vanishing, and he had no idea whether they were safe or not. Nor any clue as to where they disappeared to. Chopper and Robin assumed that all their friends had been 'abducted' by the mysterious light, one way or another, but what was that light? Why and how did it appear? These questions puzzled them, and despite the many days of investigation, they found no answers. _

"_I do hope they are safe," said Robin, her voice filled with concern. _

_Chopper nodded tearfully. An uncomfortable silence fell between them, and they both sighed simultaneously. _

_Without a warning, the ship began to tremble furiously, and Chopper cried out in alarm as a large shape burst from the oceans calm surface and flew into the air. _

"_Oh my, it's an octopus," said Robin, watching it fall back into the water with a splash._

"_I-its huge!" scream Chopper. "Why did it burst out of the water?"_

_The giant octopus rose from the ocean again, screeching and howling; either in pain or in frustration. Maybe both. They could see now that it had a strangely large swollen bump from the top of its head._

"'_Damn that stupid curly browed bastard'," said Chopper._

_Robin looked at him and blinked._

"_That's what the octopus is saying," he explained. "Hmm…" Chopper pondered. "Somehow, that's sounds familiar…"_

_Robin tilted her head. "Isn't that what swordsman-san is always calling cook-san?"_

_Robin and Chopper exchanged a look, and then stared at the octopus, who thrashed its tentacles about._

"_What happened to you?" Chopper called out to the octopus. "Where did you come from?"_

_The octopus stopped thrashing, looked at Chopper, and instead began to cry. Robin and Chopper sweat dropped. Its crying sounded like a metal cart being dragged along the ground. After Chopper finally managed to calm the thing down, it told Chopper its story; well, wept it; and Chopper translated._

"'_I was just minding my own business, when I swam into this weird pool of light and ended up in this pond thing. Then, I was attacked! By this blond guy with wacky curly eyebrows and a fierce kick.'" Chopper paused and he thought. "The light…Wait a minute, that sounds familiar…" _

"_Was the blonde with anyone?" asked Robin, and Chopper asked the octopus for her._

"'_Well, there were a few cheering him on…'" answered the octopus through Chopper's voice, "'a red headed girl… a guy with a freaky long nose… a girl with bunches… a boy with short black hair…. a guy with green hair, but he was more mocking him than cheering…'" Chopper's eyes widened and he looked at Robin hopefully. "It couldn't be, could it?" _

"_I think it could," smiled Robin._

"_Rawr! Eeek!" (Translation: you know those jerks?) screamed the octopus. _

"_Yes, I think that's the rest of our crew," said Chopper. Bad move. The octopus was furious and rose up to attack. Chopper tried to call peace, but it wouldn't listen._

"_Fine then. Have it your way." Chopper produced a small golden coloured medicine and crunched it between his teeth. "Rumble ball!" he called and transformed onto jump point, leaping into the air for a quick battle._

* * *

It was very awkward getting changed in a completely empty changing room, and Lynn felt a strange, tense atmosphere around. Perhaps it was because she was feeling uneasy at the noise that was rousing outside. After she threw on her jacket and shoes, Lynn and Nami headed outside the building to meet Luffy and co, but were greeted with a horrific sight. The boys were already changed, outside, and what was going on was absolute riot.

"ZORO!" squealed the Zoro-fans, chasing him around in circles.

"SANJI!" cried the Sanji-fans, carrying him away like a tidal wave.

"LUFFY!" news of Luffy's presence at the scene had spread far and wide (all thanks to modern technology) and now Luffy's fan club had gathered, increased in size, and were almost crushing him under their frenzy of feet.

"This is the BBC evening news," said the news-lady loudly over the noise into her microphone, "Reports of a sea monster sighted at the local pool has caused huge disturbances in the area. We are here, live on the scene and apparently, these youngsters are the ones that defeated the monster and protected our town!" the camera swerved to the tanned young man standing at the entrance and boasting away to some photographers. "Sir, sir, please tell us what happened!" the microphone was shoved in Usopp's face and he smirked proudly.

"Well, obviously, I was the one that defeated it!" he bragged. "My crew-... my friends were terrified, but with me around, they had nothing to fear!"

The TV reporters clapped gleefully, firing questions at this young 'hero'.

Lynn slapped her forehead at the sight. "He was the only one that didn't do anything!" she cried in exasperation, but no one heard her. She was caught under the stampede of reporters instead.

"Miss! Look over here!" the photographers' cameras clicked and flashed as Nami posed for them, forgetting about the rest of her friends for a minute.

"Are you people trying to kill us, dammit?" screamed Lynn, shoving her way across the crowds and grabbing each of her friends. Luffy and Zoro happily went with her, and as did Usopp, who although loved attention, wasn't that keen on getting crushed by this ridiculous stampede. Lynn then dragged Nami by the wrist, scowling as Nami continued to blow kisses at her photographers. Now, where was Sanji…?

"Mellorine!" Sanji's weak, love-struck cries were muffled by the huge blanket of girls swarming over him a few yards away.

"I'll take care of this Nami style." Lynn pushed up her sleeve and headed over to him. She landed a punch on his head with no less force than Nami would have done, but her attack had a much different effect.

"Who's the little kid?" frowned an older fan-girl, hanging onto Sanji protectively.

"WHO'S A KID?" bellowed Lynn, grabbing her school bag and swinging it at Sanji in anger, even though it wasn't his fault. But Lynn had completely forgotten that she had quite a few big ass files and dictionaries in there. The bag connected with Sanji's already love-woozy head and he was knocked out completely, love hearts still lingering in his eyes.

"Oh crap," muttered Lynn, blinking at the fallen Sanji, and his ever so mad fan-club. She backed away as they began to move in on her threateningly for hurting their beloved.

"Let's go!" shouted a voice, and Lynn hadn't even a chance to turn before she was snatched up by the waist and hauled away from the mob speedily. She looked up and saw Luffy's face, his expression a mix between confusion and anxiousness. "Why did you knock Sanji out?"

"I didn't mean to!" Lynn glanced over and saw that Luffy held the unconscious Sanji under his other arm.

"The violence thing only works if _I_ do it!" shouted Nami, running up behind them, followed by Zoro and Usopp.

"Well how would I know?" protested Lynn, jumping from Luffy's arms and running on her own legs.

"Cant someone get rid of these stalkers?" yelled Zoro, casting a fleeting look behind him at the horrific mixture of fans and paparazzi still giving chase.

Usopp had an idea, and he stopped running to face the mob. "Smoke star!" he shouted, firing from his slingshot and sending up a thick smog. They crew used this great opportunity and escaped down the road.

* * *

"Sanji. Oi, Sanji." Luffy slapped the cook's face gently, trying to wake him up. "I'm hungry!"

It was almost an hour later, and Sanji still lay on the floor in Lynn's living room, unconscious. Everyone else formed a circle around him, taking turns trying to wake him. Zoro was excluded, of course; who knows what he'll do to the poor cook?

"What's wrong? He won't wake up!" wailed Luffy. "What are we going to eat for dinner?"

"Sanji's out cold and you're worried about your dinner?" demanded Usopp. But then his growling stomach caused everyone to look at him. Nobody criticised him, though, as they were actually all starving.

Zoro rolled his eyes. "Like I said earlier…" he put a hand on the handle of his katana. "Just let me take care of…"

"NO!" everyone shouted at him.

"Just a tiny stab…"

"NO!"

Zoro grumbled his discontent and sat back down.

"This isn't going to work," sighed Nami, straightening up. "We should eat first, and let him wake up naturally."

"But who's going to cook?" frowned Lynn. She looked up and saw that all eyes were on her. "What?"

"I vote the one responsible cooks today," said Usopp.

"I agree." Nami nodded.

Lynn looked back and forth at each of her friends. "ME?" she cried. "You're kidding?"

"Well it's your fault that he's knocked out," said Nami, shrugging.

"We could always order a pizza," suggested Lynn.

"What? You can't cook?" Usopp raised an eyebrow.

"O-of course I can!" Lynn pouted, not wanting to admit defeat to him.

"Ok, then that's settled, you're cooking the dinner," declared Nami, patting Lynn on the back and sitting herself onto the sofa casually as Lynn headed into the kitchen.

_

* * *

_

Poor octopus. In one day, he'd been beaten up good; not once, but twice. Chopper turned himself back into brain point and stood on the railing of the ship with his arms crossed, facing the battered and bruised sea monster.

"_Browal!" (Translation: I'm sorry!) it moaned, and slipped away under the water._

"_Wait!" Chopper shouted after it. "We have a few questions we'd like to ask!"_

_But the monster was already out of sight._

"_Never mid doctor-san," said Robin reassuringly. "If what that octopus said was true, then our nakama are most probably still alive and well. All we have to do now is find a light so we can go and find them."_

_Chopper flinched at that suggestion. "But who knows what's behind those lights?" he whimpered, trembling slightly. _

_Robin pondered. That was a good point. They could now almost be certain that their friends were still alive, but their whereabouts were still unclear, and the place they were at could be deadly dangerous for all they knew._

"_Robin..." Chopper pointed a shaky hoof towards something near the forest. Robin turned, and stared at the light shape in the distance. "Is that what we're looking for?" gulped Chopper._

"_I believe so. But I didn't think one would appear so soon." Robin began to head over in its direction._

"_No! Robin don't go!" cried Chopper, jumping up down from the railing._

"_But we need to find the rest of the crew don't we?" _

"_Yes, but..." Chopper swallowed and looked at Robin tearfully. "I don't want you to get eaten too!"_

"_It's alright," reassured Robin. "Don't be scared. It'll be fine." She began to go again._

"_NO!" yelped Chopper, springing up from the ground. Robin couldn't help but sweatdrop when she felt Chopper clinging onto her leg. "I'm scared!" he admitted._

_Robin smiled supportively at Chopper, and then quickly thought of an investigation strategy for the two of them. Chopper nodded slowly as she explained her plan to him, and finally and reluctantly, he agreed to it._

* * *

Nami flicked through the TV channels, looking for something to watch. There was nothing interesting on apart from the chaotic BBC news report of the events at the swimming pool earlier.

'These image qualities are brilliant,' she thought, watching a footage of herself and the photographers.

A strange smell penetrated her nostrils, and she crinkled her nose uncomfortably. Was something burning? Was something rotting? It smelt like a combination of both. And it was coming from the kitchen.

'What is Lynn doing in there?' she wondered, frowning, trying to decide of she should go and lend Lynn a hand. A huge crash and a scream, followed by loud coughing ended her hesitation, and she dashed into the kitchen, demanding to know what was going on. She stopped and gawked when she saw the pitiful state the kitchen was in.

It was nothing too serious, really. Just that the room was tipped upside down and there was black smoke coming from the oven. Salt and pepper pots lay spilt on the worktop, scattered utensils everywhere, vegetable peelings and bits covered the floor, the fridge door was wide open, and Lynn stood in the middle of it all, cursing about the broken dishes she had just dropped, whilst choking on the smog.

"WHAT THE HECK?" shouted Nami.

"Oh, Nami," smiled Lynn meekly, waving at her, "hi!"

Nami scowled. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

"Making dinner," replied Lynn, heading over to her, but slipped on a banana peel in the process and ended up on her bum.

"What on earth do you need bananas for?" Nami helped Lynn up.

"Well, I was hungry…"

Nami sighed. "I didn't know that you and kitchens were mortal enemies..."

"We're not," said Lynn, picking up some bits of rubbish from the floor. "They just don't like me,"

"Never mind that, go and sort out whatever is burning to a crisp inside that oven!" Nami shoved Lynn towards the black smoke.

"Oh no!" Lynn cried, taking the oven tray out and placing it on the worktop. "The fish!"

Nami stared at the black-as-soot thing in the middle of the tray. That lump of coal is fish? She stuck out a finger, poked it, and sweat dropped as it crumbled into ashes.

"Ok... I guess we're not having the fish then..." Lynn turned back to the hob and peeked into the pot that sat on the far edge.

"Is that something edible?" asked Nami hopefully. She wasn't pleased with Lynn's reply.

"I think so..."

Nami walked over and inspected the pot herself. She felt sick just looking at its contents. The girls exchanged a look and then pulled a face simultaneously.

"What is that suppose to be?"

"It was meant to be carrot soup and... never mind."

Together, they took the pot to the downstairs bathroom and dumped the 'soup' down the toilet bowl.

"What a waste," said Nami, shaking her head as she pressed the toilet flush button. "Have you actually made anything else fit for human consumption?"

"I have actually!" beamed Lynn, who didn't seem to be depressed over the fact she had epically failed the first two dishes. "I've made egg fried rice!"

"Really?" somehow, Nami wasn't thrilled over that fact.

"It's the only proper dish I can cook," added Lynn under her breath, not seeming to realise Nami could hear her loud and clear.

"IS DINNER READY YET?" Luffy's eager voice called from the dining room. Nami looked at Lynn. She thought back to the two previous nightmares known as 'food'. And she sighed.

"Bon appetite," smiled Lynn, placing the plates and pan of egg fried rice on the table. Everyone, apart from Nami, looked around to search for the rest of the dinner, but saw none.

"Is this all?" asked Zoro, scratching his head. The food supply today didn't look like it could feed Usopp, never mind Luffy!

"Yep, that's all I'm afraid."

Usopp sniffed the air and crinkled his nose. "What's that weird smell?"

'That,' thought Nami. 'Would be the smell of scorched fish, burnt and curdled soup stuff, spilt cleaning up liquid, too much air freshener, all mixed into one,'

"I'm sorry for the big mess," said Lynn, scooping out servings for everyone. "I've never been brilliant in the kitchen,"

'Understatement of the century,' thought Nami, rolling her eyes.

"Then how did you survive with your parents away?" asked Usopp.

"Well, there's a restaurant down the road, and I do love pizza express."

"So you live on junk food when no one's around to cook?" Nami raised an eyebrow.

"Pretty much, yeah," answered Lynn.

By now, everyone had a plate of food in front of them, apart from Lynn who was standing and Sanji who was still unconscious, and were all looking down at it suspiciously. Well, Luffy was more looking at it hungrily. Nami shuffled back in her seat, edging away from the food as if it were poisoned. It probably _was_, in its own way.

"I'm starving!" exclaimed Luffy, and he was first to dig in. everyone watched for a moment before picking up their own cutlery carefully. Zoro stared at his spoonful of rice suspiciously, raising it to his mouth, and then lowering it hesitantly, not fully convinced it was safe to eat.

"Just eat it already," said Nami impatiently, "Look. Luffy's eating it just fine!"

"Yes, but he's not normal," Zoro still eyeing his food cautiously. "If it's safe, then why don't you try some first?"

"No, you go first."

"No way!"

Lynn pouted, feeling offended. It was like Nami and Zoro were fighting about who was going to die first. Nami's stomach rumbled and she was eager for food, but wasn't going to risk it without a guinea pig to test first.

"Shut up and eat the damn stuff!" shouted Nami, quickly scooping a huge spoonful of egg fried rice and forcefully stuffed it down the swordsman's throat as he opened his mouth to protest, and then pinched his nose so he swallowed. Zoro choked with nausea and turned purple.

"Are you... trying... to murder me bitch?" screamed Zoro, gagging and spluttering, and he turned to Lynn. "What are you trying to make? Egg fried rice or egg shells fried with salt?"

"It's not _that_ bad is it?" Lynn muttered sheepishly.

"Sake! Sake!" gasped Zoro, desperate for a drink to wash the dreadful taste down.

"Well, we have some alcohol on the top shelf of the cupboard." Lynn hesitated before she spoke again. Ggo and get it yourself."

"What? Is it too high for you to reach?"

Lynn flinched and her expression darkened. In response to his no-offence-intended statement, she grabbed the plate off the table and tipped the rest of its contents down his throat. The swordsman gagged again, and his face turned a few more nasty shades before he collapsed off his chair, leg twitching in the air comically.

"What happened to Zoro?" asked Luffy, looking up from his 'meal' and peeking over.

"I think he was poisoned…" gulped Usopp, putting down his spoon and pushing away his plate, now certain that it was 'toxic'.

'Wow, that stuff is dangerous,' thought Nami, shaking her head.

Lynn took a deep breath, calming herself from her little outburst, and smiled sweetly, as if having two of the monster trio lying unconscious on her dining room floor was the most normal thing in the world.

"Pizza express, anyone?"

_

* * *

_

Chopper stayed latched on Robin's leg as they stepped up in front of the gleaming circle of light.

"_Damn you!" he wailed at it, torn between fright and newly roused anger on remembering each of his stolen crewmates. "Give us back our nakama, jerk!" he failed to realise it was useless shouting at an inanimate object; or he just didn't care. _

"_Doctor-san," said Robin, trying to gently pry him off her leg. "Why don't we do as planned."_

_Chopper nodded shakily and slowly lowered himself onto the ground. Searching around quickly, he noticed a small, blue feathered bird perching in its nest on the top of a tree. Perfect. He cleared his throat and called out to it. "Excuse me! Can you help us?" _

_Silence. He repeated his request. Still nothing. He opened his mouth to shout again, and the bird flew out of its nest and stabbed him on the head with its beak._

"_Tweet! Tweet tweet tweeeeeet!" (Translation: shut up dammit, I'm trying to sleep!) screamed the small bird that hopped furiously on the ground before him._

"_Sorry," he apologized. "But can you help us?"_

"_Tweet?" the bird tilted its head and stared at Chopper with wide, dark eyes._

"_I'd like you to fly into that light thing, circle the area and see if you can track down a few people, and then you can fly back," Chopper told it. _

"_TWEEEEET!" (translation: no way in hell!) _

"_Please?" pleaded Chopper. "We can give you any rewards you might want if you help." _

"_TWEE- tweet?" (translation: NO WA- really?)_

_Chopper nodded, and glanced at Robin, who nodded approvingly too. _

_The bird seemed to giggled greedily. "Twit-twit-tweet?" (translation: how about a bag full of shiny stuff?)_

"_You like shiny stuff then! No problem!" Chopper smiled._

"_TWEET!" (translation: you got yourself a deal!) _

_Chopper beamed, and Robin crossed her arms across her chest. "__Ojos Fleur." She said, closing her eyes._

_The bird blinked, wondering what she was doing, then screeched when it felt a tickly sensation on its chest, and almost fainted from shock when it saw that the thing which had caused the tickling was a pair of eyes that had suddenly sprouted on his feathers. _

"_It's ok," reassured Chopper. "That's just Robin's devil fruit power. It won't hurt you."_

_The bird continued to freak out and attempted to peck out the freaky eyes, though failing to reach because its beak was too short._

"_Don't do that," frowned Chopper. "Or else you'll hurt Robin. If you hurt Robin then I'm not giving you shiny stuff."_

_The bird stopped; sharpish. "Tweet twit tweet?" (translation: ok, who am I looking for?)_

"_Well, there are five of them," said Chopper, thinking. "There's Nami, a girl with orange hair, and a rather scary aura at times; and the rest of them are guys. One of them has green hair and three katanas, one of them has blond hair and is never without a cigarette, one of them has a really long nose and goggles on his head, and one of them has short black hair, a scar under his left eye, and is always wearing a straw hat. That's our captain." _

_The bird nodded and chirped, signifying that it understood instructions. It batted its wings and took off into the portal, ignoring the creepy eyes that stayed on its chest._

"_When the eyes vanish then come back at any time!" Chopper shouted after the bird, and watched it disappear into the pool of light. Then, he turned to Robin. "What do you see Robin?"_

_Robin's frowned, eyes rolling around behind her closed eyelids, examining the scenes on the other side of the portal through the bird's spectrum. "This is very different…" _

"_What?" asked Chopper curiously._

_The landscape that Robin saw was that of a small town centre. Tons of people strolled down the strange, modern looking streets, heading in and out of tall buildings that resembled shops. It was evening time, yet the streets were still bustling, and lit up with colourful lights and signs. Strange. Strange indeed. Robin described everything she observed to Chopper, careful not to leave out any details. Chopper nodded as he listened, and he relaxed more and more as she went on, now certain this place was different, but by no means dangerous. Robin took a breath after she finished talking, and uncrossed her arms and opened her eyes, removing her other set of eyes from the bird's chest on the opposite side of the portal. _

"_Ok," said Chopper, inhaling deeply. "I think I'm ready to go in and search for our nakama now."_

_Robin smiled, pleased that she had now fully reassured the reindeer doctor, and nodded to signify that they would now enter the mysterious land. Chopper stepped forwards slowly, feet, or should I say hooves, only centimetres away from the glowing portal. He felt ready. It took some convincing, but he was ready, and willing. _

_So, goodness was he surprised when the portal suddenly, without a warning, sucked in on itself and disappeared into thin air. _

_Chopper's mouth dropped open in shock, and Robin blinked a few times before muttering. "Oh dear..."_

"_I-it's gone!" wailed Chopper._

"_And that poor bird is unfortunately stuck on the other side," added Robin. "That was too sudden!"_

_Chopper sighed dejectedly. "I guess we'll have to wait till the next time a light shows up."_

"_Never mind," said Robin. "At least that gives us some time to maybe hide our ship before we set off; just in case anything should happen to it."_

_Chopper nodded in agreement, knowing that there was nothing else they could do now anyway, and they both headed back to the Merry. _

* * *

The poor, poor bird. It fluttered around in the darkening evening sky, freaking out slightly. The eyes on its chest had disappeared, but so had the portal that linked its world to the world it was currently in! It cursed in bird talk about stupid reindeers and being starving. Setting itself onto the top of a tall building, it could but grumble to itself and ruffle its feathers disapprovingly. It was stuck here, and there was nothing that could be done about that.

Suddenly, something caught the bird's attention. There was something small and dark just out of the corner of its eye. Thinking it was maybe edible, the bird went over to inspect. It was a small piece of… wood? The bird didn't care; it was too hungry to care anymore. Picking the wood up in its beak, it swallowed the wood in one gulp, and frowned (if birds could frown) at its dull taste. It, in fact, did not satisfy the birds hunger at all! It instead sat down and began to ponder about its next steps.

After a few moments of debating pros and cons with an inner self, the bird finally decided that it would set off to find the said 'crew' of that darn reindeer that abandoned it here. Maybe they could help find a way home! But that would take place tomorrow, as now, it was time to nap after an exhausting and frustrating day.

* * *

Gordon Campbell, chief of police, was a fat and bulky figured officer. He stood at the side of the local swimming pool, scratching his stubby chin gently. He was currently responsible of investigating the case of the sighted 'monster' that had supposedly invaded the pool earlier. But so far, there was no trace as to where the 'monster' could have gone.

"Hey, chief," said an investigator to Gordon, searching for suspicious items but getting nowhere. "Why don't we ask those kids that claimed they beat the monster? They might know something."

"Nah!" a passing police officer waved a hand objectively. "I'll bet they were just looking for attention or something. Yeah right, like they would really know anything useful!"

Gordon nodded thoughtfully. His officer had a point. Everyone knew that teenagers nowadays could not be trusted.

"Sir, these are the finger prints we found at the scene," said Sarah, Gordon's assistant, who forever carried a serious expression.

"They could belong to virtually anyone who was swimming today!" Gordon dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

"But sir, these prints weren't identified on our system, shouldn't we try to find out who they belong to?"

"Don't bother," said Gordon. "What's the use in that? We're trying to locate a possible monster, not search for a murder suspect."

"But sir-" Sarah sighed as her chief walked away, shouting for everyone to call it a day and go home as this whole thing was just a waste of time and a scam. 'He never pays attention at all to anything I say,' she thought in exasperation.

But in fact, Gordon may look lazy and none-too-bright on the outside, but he was actually processing the information he was given quietly through his head. Confirmed numerous sightings, slime samples, tentacle marks on the walls; there was no doubt a suspicious creature was present here at the pool earlier. But he had his reasons for not revealing this to the public; nothing but chaotic panic would arouse, and that would just make matters worse. But he, himself, knew perfectly well that the monster from before was not something from this world. And that it had disappeared mysteriously in a span of time thought humanly impossible.

Gordon pondered, and smiled to himself slightly.

"Interesting. Interesting indeed…"

* * *

A great big thank you to 'eternitybeckons' for her brilliant ideas on the Chopper and Robin scene! :D

Next time: An awkward situation and a confrontation at school. Then, the gang chill out at home, when they get an unexpected visit… Well, technically it's not a visit, since they own the place… have I given you enough clues? Quick! Hide the Straw Hats!

Please please R&R! Or else! Ok, that was an empty threat, but please do! I really love reviews! Anything, even a simple 'hi!' will do! PLEEAAASSE! I wanna know if I'm doing ok, or if I'm talking complete crapola in my stories!


	10. Confrontations and Bothersome Parents

**Chapter 10 – Confrontations and Bothersome parents**

Disclaimer: I don't own one piece, ok?

Dad: what you doing?

SS: beat it, dad.

Dad: # Beat it! Beat it! # _*exits playing air guitar*_

SS: …

(Yeah, my dad _does_ do that once in a while… -_-')

Anyhow, thank you for the reviews guys! I greatly appreciate it! Review for this chapter too, eh? Please? You don't know how happy I am when I receive a review; I'm literally jumping around my bedroom like Luffy gone high. So review, and I'll get really pumped up, and probably update much faster :D

Also, if anyone was wondering; Lynn isn't Japanese so strictly speaking it would be kind of stupid to make her use honorifics and Japanese phrases here and there. And I don't use even make the cannon characters use a lot of Japanese, just because this story is in English so I find it awkward to put random bits of another language :P

Note: you can now have a look at artwork for my story by just clicking on my profile ^^

* * *

It was late evening now, and after a few pizzas between them, Lynn, Nami, Usopp and Luffy all sat back onto the sofa, pretty full.

"Pizza always makes things better!" beamed Lynn, licking her lips and chucking aside a huge, empty cardboard pizza box.

Meanwhile, inside the dining room, Sanji began to stir from his position on the ground. He felt groggy, and a spot on his head ached for some unknown reason.

'What happened?' he wondered to himself, getting up and brushing himself off. His eyes settled on the kitchen scene, and his jaw dropped in shock. 'Who the hell did this to the kitchen?' he screamed inside his head furiously. Scanning the area, he saw Zoro lying on the floor not far away, and jumped to conclusions.

A loud yell and CRASH came from inside the kitchen, and all four of the persons sitting on the sofa peeked over to see what was going on. Though they saw nothing because of the door that blocked their view.

"WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA EYEBROW FREAK?" they could recognise Zoro's enraged voice.

"WHY DID YOU DESTROY THE KITCHEN?" Sanji's unmistakeable voice sounded equally mad.

More crashes and thuds.

"I think this is all your fault," said Nami to Lynn accusingly. Lynn shrugged awkwardly and rushed over to try and break up the fight before their fight breaks down the house.

"Stop it!" yelled Lynn, stepping into the room.

"How dare you tear down the kitchen!" Sanji continued to snarl at Zoro.

"It wasn't me!" Zoro shouted back. "And this isn't even YOUR damn kitchen! Why do you care?

"I'm a cook, and I will never let any kitchen be destroyed for no reason!"

"Well, you were out cold, so _someone_ had to make dinner!" Zoro rolled his eyes as he added silently to himself. 'If you could call that dangerous crap 'dinner'.'

"So you mean this was all done by the same person?" asked Sanji.

Everyone nodded.

"So some idiot knocked me unconscious for no reason and then wrecked the kitchen?" His scowl deepened.

More nodding.

"Then who was the stupid bastard?" demanded Sanji, eyes flickering between Luffy, Zoro and Usopp. "I'll never forgive them!"

Everyone, apart from Sanji, cast a fleeting look at Lynn, and she raised her hand sheepishly.

"Um, Sanji?" Sanji turned to face her. "That stupid bastard was actually me."

Sanji's eyes widened as he recalled his last moments before he lost consciousness. Yes, now that he thought of it, it was indeed Lynn that whacked him with her school bag. She lowered her head guiltily.

"I'm sor-"

"I forgive you!" Sanji declared before Lynn even finished her apology, and began to do his noodle dance around her, awing over how cute she looked when guilty. Lynn wondered how a leg can have so many bends in it. He must double, triple, quadruple jointed.

Everyone sweat dropped at Sanji's sudden change in attitude; apart from Zoro who fumed.

"WHAT? So I got attacked for no reason, and you go all lovey-dovey on the one you should be mad at? What is your problem shit-cook?"

"I could never be mad at a lady," said Sanji simply.

"The hell?" Zoro stomped out of the room in frustration. He's been poisoned, accused of a fault that wasn't his, and assaulted; all in one evening.

"My bad!" Lynn called after him, and he gave an irritated grunt in response.

"Now, get to work," said Nami, shoving a broom at Lynn.

Lynn blinked.

"This is your mess, and you're going to clean it up," insisted Nami, and she left the room and went upstairs to bed, yawning.

Lynn pouted. She honestly couldn't be bothered to go around cleaning up.

Usopp sniggered. "What? Are you scared of _'dust-bunnies'_?"

The broom connected with the top of his head in an instant and sent him cowering to the ground, covering the rising bump with his hands. Usopp looked up at Lynn's fractious glare, and muttered to himself, "I need a helmet…"

Lynn glanced around the rubbish-dump of a room in revulsion, and decided she would convince Sanji to do the cleaning up for her. And somehow, she didn't think it would be too hard.

Friday. The last day of the week. Lynn couldn't be happier to know that she would have a whole weekend to relax after all this chaos. After all, having the straw-hat pirates staying at your house isn't the most peaceful thing to live through. Their arrival had heavily disturbed her otherwise normal life; but actually, she was glad that they had. It had been a while since she felt such cheerfulness which the crew brought. With them around, everything just seemed a lot more lively!

Lively indeed. It was only early morning, and Lynn could already hear voices through her half-asleep ears. But she wasn't exactly pleased. It was too early for liveliness; she was never a morning person.

"Lynn! Hurry up!" a male voice shouted from afar, making Lynn toss uncomfortably in her bed; well, her parents' bed in which she was sleeping in. Sure it was the last day of the week, but it wasn't a convincing enough reason for her to get up just yet.

"Go away mum…" she muttered mindlessly. Ok, it wasn't her fault that her brain doesn't function properly on mornings.

"Get up!" the voice persisted. "it's time for school!"

Lynn frowned. She recognised the voice now as Usopp. "Shut up," she mumbled, pulling her cover over her head.

"It's quarter past eight, it's not my fault if you're late!"

"Screw school," she groaned, but then sat up sharply when the message properly processed in her mind. Quarter past 8? School starts at half past! "Crap!" she cursed, jumping out of bed and throwing on her clothes. She quickly washed and brushed her teeth, pulling a brush through her hair at the same time, and tying them into her usual low twin bunches. She could smell French toast and meat of some sort from downstairs. At least since Sanji arrived, breakfast wasn't a hassle anymore! Lynn dashed down stairs, pulling her socks on at the same time, and managed to do it somehow with falling head first down the steps. She burst into the kitchen, startling everyone else already eating at the table.

"Sorry I'm up late," she gasped for breath, plopping down into a chair and grabbing some toast off the plate near her.

"Slow down," said Nami, staring wide eyed as Lynn stuffed down her food. "You're not Luffy, you're going to choke,"

No sooner had she said it, Lynn began to choke and motion for a drink.

"Slow down," repeated Sanji, handing her a glass of water. Lynn gulped it down, and apologized again.

"It's ok; really," said Nami. "You're not that late."

Lynn blinked at her.

"It's only 7:40,"

Lynn blinked again, and checked the time on her mobile. Nami was right; it was still quite early.

"Usopp…" Lynn muttered, her urgent expressions twisting into a snarl. "What the heck do you think you're playing at?"

Usopp, who had already finished breakfast, sat on the sofa cleaning his goggles and giggling to himself. Lynn could see him through the crack of the open door that linked the dining room to the living room, and she stormed over.

"You told me it was gone 8!" she shouted at him.

Usopp shrugged. "You wouldn't have gotten up if I didn't say that,"

"Yes I would!"

"Actually, you probably wouldn't have," commented Zoro from the dining room, and Lynn scowled to herself.

She then noticed that Usopp was staring at her with a somewhat mischievous smile on his face. She narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what was running though his bandana covered little head.

"What are you staring at?" she demanded.

Usopp didn't answer. Instead he stood up, cleared his throat, and said loudly and clearly, "You. Are. Short."

Lynn immediately growled, and responded him with a hard kick on the shin. As her foot connected with his leg, there was a crisp TING sound, and Lynn froze for a moment in surprise before she began hopping around the room, holding her foot in pain whilst cursing loudly.

"It worked!" Usopp smirked, removing a metal plate from under his trousers leg.

"THAT WAS DIRTY!" shouted Lynn, rubbing her foot tenderly.

"I made myself an armour from sheet metal!" he beamed. "Smart, isn't it?"

"No it's not!" Lynn limped over and knocked on Usopp's chest. It was like knocking on a steel wall. "And isn't wearing that heavy?"

"Not at all," he answered.

Still furious for making her stub her toe badly, Lynn whack him on the head, bringing her fist down as hard as possible. But it wasn't Usopp who was yelping in pain when her attack finished, it was Lynn, shaking her swollen hand. Usopp proudly revealed the piece of metal slid under his bandana.

"Stupid idiot!" cried Lynn.

Usopp grinned triumphantly; but his victorious moment didn't last long, as he was sent flying past Lynn to the other side of the room.

"Are you alright Lynn-chan?" cooed Sanji, lowering his leg and taking her hurt hand in his, whilst tossing a death glare at Usopp. "Don't you dare bully her!"

"_She's_ the one that attacked _me_!" Usopp protested, annoyed that Sanji had ruined his moment.

"I don't care what she does; you never EVER upset a lady!"

"Sanji, can you kill him for me?" requested Lynn casually.

"Yes Lynn-chwaan!" he beamed, and leaped at Usopp.

Lynn then hobbled over to the dining room and sat down to breakfast, listening to the satisfying sounds of Usopp's terrified screams and the thudding of footsteps as he fled for dear life.

* * *

Lynn and Luffy sat in the biology lab at school, waiting for the first lesson of the day to start. Miriam peeked over at her friends, wondering why she had a red patch on her hand.

"All Usopp's fault," grumbled Lynn, and Miriam just blinked. Lynn had completely forgotten that Miriam hasn't yet been introduced to him.

Luffy flicked through Lynn's biology textbook, stared at a random page and read off the small caption.

"Hmm…" he thought hard. "What's a living orgasm?"

Lynn felt her cheeks burn slightly, and thanked God that no one else heard him. "Um… I think you mean 'organism'…"

Luffy just blinked.

Lynn was saved from an embarrassing explanation by the biology teacher's entrance. Mrs Kirk walked into the room and after telling the class to settle down, she promptly began the lesson.

"Today, we will be working on chapter 8 in your text books on 'reproduction'," announced Mrs. Kirk as she wrote today's date onto the white board. "Please turn to page 133."

Luffy did so and stared at the page curiously at the diagram on fertilisation.

"Ooh, tadpoles!"

Lynn slapped her forehead. Luffy read some more, and he frowned.

"That's a long word. What's contraception?" he asked.

"…um…" Lynn looked away awkwardly, not wanting to be the one to explain that. "Somehow, I think that this is not going to be Luffy-friendly lesson," she muttered to herself, considering evacuating him for the time being.

"It's a type of protection," explained Miriam, who wasn't so shy about these things. "To prevent STI during intercourse." She hadn't taken into thought that Luffy had no clue as to what either STI stood for or what 'intercourse' strictly meant.

"Hmm…" Luffy thought hard, and thumped his fist against his palm. "I get it! It's mysterious protective armour!"

Lynn couldn't help but snigger at this, and she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and it was what Usopp was wearing this morning," she muttered sarcastically.

Luffy nodded, finally 'understanding' what contraception was. And he decided that maybe HE needed one too, to stop Nami from abusing him all the time.

"I need contraception too!" he declared loudly, and the whole class, including the teacher, quietened down in an instant. Lynn looked around the room slowly, glancing awkwardly at all the startled expressions of her classmates. And one shocked-as-hell teacher.

Evacuating him sounded like a very good idea just now...

"What?" Luffy blinked at the bemused class, wondering why he was getting such strange looks. Did they have abusive navigators too? "Do you guys need it as well?"

"Mrs. Kirk may we be excused?" said Lynn loudly, considering no longer. "Luffy has a stomach ache."

And before the bewildered teacher could reply, Lynn jumped from her seat, pulling Luffy with her. She dragged him quickly out of the classroom and down the corridor to the boys' toilets where she shoved him in and closed the door.

"Stay in there until the bell rings, and I'll come and get you!" Lynn called through the door and Luffy could hear her footsteps fading as she walked away speedily.

'Strange,' thought Luffy as he sat himself onto the windowsill. 'It's as if I said something wrong.'

The toilet flushed and from one of the cubicles walked out a figure. Luffy turned to the noise and stared as Cain walked to the basin to wash his hands. Cain stopped when he saw Luffy perched on the windowsill casually, waiting for classes to end. The two stared at each other for some time. Luffy broke the awkward silence with a wide grin.

"What are you smirking about?" scowled Cain.

Luffy didn't answer. Cain peered at him carefully. Luffy looked completely normal, like any human guy you would see on the street; just maybe a little dumber. But Cain knew that Luffy was different. Very different. Another silence fell over them.

"What the hell are you?" demanded Cain when he finally found his tongue.

"What do you mean?" Luffy tilted his head.

"Don't play dumb," snarled Cain. "I saw your freaky powers. I know you're not normal."

Luffy blinked, and he burst into another grin. "Oh, ok! You found out then!"

Cain flinched, uneasy with Luffy's calm attitude. "What are you?" he demanded again.

Luffy pulled his cheek as far as it would go, making Cain's jaw drop open. "I'm a rubber man!"

Cain gaped at Luffy's stretchy face, speechless.

"I ate the Gomu Gomu fruit," Luffy explained. "It gave me the power of turning into rubber, but the price of eating one of these cursed devils fruits is that I will be an hammer in water."

"And that's why you can't swim..." Cain swallowed.

Luffy let his cheek snap back into place and grinned.

"Why the hell are you telling me all of this?" Cain demanded, and then smirked. "I could tell everyone your secret and get you put in a freak show."

Luffy's smile didn't fade. "Nah, you wouldn't!"

"Oh yeah? What make you so sure?" shouted Cain.

"You're not a bad guy; I can tell," said Luffy. Cain scowled furiously.

"What do you mean? Of course I'm a bad guy! I almost made you drown three times yesterday, and I'm the class bully! I hurt people! Any idiot can tell I'm a bad guy!"

Luffy's smile faded and his expression became solemn. "You must have been hurt pretty bad in the past to make you want to hurt others now."

Cain became silent. He trembled slightly. And his eyes widened as voices of the past echoed in his head.

"_What a weakling."_

"_Pathetic."_

"_You could never be part of a gang like us. Boss, let's go."_

"_Get out of my sight, worthless thing; I don't need someone like you joining me."_

Cain stumbled back a step. Luffy's eyes were still on him, trying to figure out his unreadable expressions.

"Y-you're crazy," Cain muttered shakily, backing away out of the room.

Luffy stared after him after the door closed with a bang, slightly bewildered. "What did I say this time?"

* * *

At break and lunchtime, Luffy discovered that ever since the swimming pool incident, positive rumours had spread about him and that his fan club was expanding by the hour. It was a rather scary statistic. And he found it out the harsh way. In other words, being engulfed in something only Sanji would consider paradise. When the bell rung, signifying the horrifying day was over, Luffy was nowhere to be found. Lynn guessed that he'd gone into hiding in terror of being attacked again.

"Now if I were an intimidated idiot pirate captain, where would I hide...?" she muttered to herself, searching around the quickly emptying classroom, but found no clues as to his whereabouts. "LUFFY!" she shouted. "Show yourself!"

No response. With a sigh, she sat on a desk and waited until everyone had left the room before shouting again. "They've gone, it's safe now."

"Really?" came a muffled voice, followed by a sigh of relief. Lynn trailed the source and sweat dropped when she found it came from inside one of the tiny classroom lockers.

"How on earth did you fit yourself into there?" she pulled open the door, shaking her head, and laughed when she saw Luffy curled up tightly inside. Well, _there's_ one advantage of being a rubber man.

"This is a good hiding place," grinned Luffy as he jumped out with a 'boing'. "Though a bit cramped."

"You don't say..." Lynn rolled her eyes. Then she looked at the miniature locker, no higher than 60 centimetres, and Luffy's much taller figure, and found it impossible to believe that a second ago, he was able to squeeze into it. 'Well, I suppose you see something new every day,' she thought, leading Luffy out of the classroom.

* * *

The afternoon sun shone brightly on the high street and on a certain little bird fluttering about aimlessly in the sky. Well, to say 'aimlessly' would be a fib, for the bird was actually on a mission to find some people whom it had unfinished business with, but it certainly wasn't getting anywhere with its 'great' tracking skills. Wandering around all day, but still with no clue as to where its targets were. Hopeless little thing...

Gliding with the wind over the tall buildings and modern streets, the bird tried to avoid the roaring monsters roaming the roads; after all, you wouldn't expect a bird from the grand line to get used to 21st century vehicles so easily, would you?

"_...one of them has short black hair, a scar under his left eye, and is always wearing a straw hat. That's our captain."_

The bird never once forgot those words Chopper has said, describing his crewmates. (And it assumed that locating the captain first would be the best option.) Still, after a whole day, the bird could not seem to find a single straw hat anywhere! People just didn't seem to wear straw hats in this new world! The bird hovered over an apple tree at the edge of a small cliff and settled itself on a branch. It was utterly irritated that a WHOLE DAY had gone without results, and was on the verge of giving up all together.

But wait... what's that...? Isn't that guy over there wearing... a straw hat? The bird tilted its head and examined more closely. There were two figures walking past, a distance away; one of them wearing, unmistakably, a straw hat, and a huge grin as if his friend walking beside him had said the funniest thing in the world. This boy matched Chopper's description, all right. Short black hair peaked from under his hat, and a thin scar, stretching under his left eye.

The bird flexed its wings. It took off, soaring towards the boy with the hat. It narrowed its eyes, if that was possible for a bird, and screeched something in bird talk. Translated, it would sound something along the lines of: "found you!"

* * *

"We have a whole weekend to relax!" grinned Lynn. "No more school riot, no more trouble!"

Luffy laughed cheerfully in agreement, thoroughly glad that he was now free of his terrifying fan-club. His laughter was cut short as something blue flew towards him like a missile and knocked him to the ground, sending up a small cloud of dust all around.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" cried Lynn, squinting to see Luffy's attacker through the dirt screen. "Are you alright?"

"Ow ow ow!" yelped Luffy, thrashing about as the dust cleared, and Lynn cracked up at the ridiculous scene before her. Luffy lay on the ground, punching his arms around aimlessly, blinded by the fierce pecking of a small blue bird hovering above his face.

"Luffy's being attacked by a bird!" hollered Lynn, pointing at them.

"TWEEET TWEEEET!" (translation: took me a damn while to find you, you bastard!) shrieked the bird, furious for some reason unknown to Lynn and Luffy.

Luffy, fairy irritated and red from the pecking by now, snatched the bird by the neck and screamed at it. "I'M RUBBER! NOT WOOD! LEAVE ME ALONE YOU BAKA BIRD!"

The bird made funny suffocated squawking sounds and struggled in the rubber-man's grasp.

"Don't do that!" Lynn walked over, still chuckling. "You'll kill the poor thing!" she pried Luffy's fingers off the bird's neck. "It's useless shouting at it, it doesn't understand what you're saying!"

"It attacked me for no reason!" Luffy protested angrily.

"Oh, come on." Lynn rolled her eyes as she took the bird from Luffy. "no need to get angry over a stupid bird!"

The next thing she knew, she was covered with a frenzy of wood-pecker style stabs.

"DAMN YOU BLOODY BIRD!" Lynn yelled, slapping around blindly.

"TWEEEET?" (translation: who are you calling stupid?) screeched the bird, finishing its assault with a final fierce peck on Lynn's head before taking off again in anger.

"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU STUPID BIRD!" Lynn shouted, shaking her fist after it.

The bird grumbled to itself for a while about how the captain and his friend are just as bad as that damn reindeer as it flew away into the sky. But after calming down and thinking things through logically, the bird realised it had made a huge mistake. It had let its anger get the better of it, and all its efforts of searching for a way to get home were now wasted! Maybe it ought to try a different method of asking for help...

Fluttering its wings, the bird took off in the direction the straw hat captain had left in.

* * *

"Stupid bird..." grumbled Lynn as she walked in through the front door and chucked her bag on the floor.

"Stupid bird..." repeated Luffy, walking in after her.

"What happened to you two?" asked Nami, looking at the small red marks all over their faces.

"We got attacked by a frickin' bird," muttered Lynn.

Nami stared at her.

"Long story..." Lynn sighed.

"Hungry... need... food..." huffed Luffy, exhausted from everything.

"There might be some stuff in the fridge you can..."

Luffy zoomed off before Lynn even finished her sentence, and she sweat-dropped at his spontaneous burst of energy. Loud clattering and shouts could be heard from the kitchen area as Luffy battled Sanji for fridge domination.

"Yeah… maybe that was a bad idea," said Nami, turning to Lynn with a raised eyebrow.

"GET AWAY FROM THE GODDAMN FRIDGE!" Sanji's voice boomed out.

A few more crashes, and Luffy's wailing could be heard too.

"Aw, there's no meat!"

"Of course there's not! Now get the hell out!"

Lynn and Nami stared as Luffy was sent flying, literally, out of the kitchen and lay in a heap beside the sofa. However, he didn't seem at all disappointed, and Lynn could now see why, as he produced a tub of ice cream from under his shirt.

"Good thing I grabbed something!" Luffy beamed, snatching a spoon lying on the coffee table and beginning to dig in.

"Don't eat it all," advised Lynn, noticing that the tub of ice cream was 2 litres.

Luffy didn't answer; and she didn't expect him to.

"Waggu waggy oopho?" (translation: what you watching Usopp?) Luffy asked through mouthfuls of the frozen dessert.

Lynn turned and saw that Usopp was sitting back on one end of the sofa (Zoro lay on the other end, eyes closed as if he were asleep.) watching a movie on her telly. An action-packed sci-fi film. Men in black, she recalled it was called. He seemed to be enjoying it.

'I guess he's looking for inspiration for his future lies,' thought Lynn, rolling her eyes.

Luffy's eyes widened as the final fight scene against that giant cockroach commenced. "WOW!" he cried, spluttering ice cream droplets everywhere, earning a whack from Nami for covering her arm with the sticky substance. "I want that guy to join my crew!" he yelled, pointing at the screen with his spoon.

"You want a cockroach to join our crew?" Zoro pulled a face. Lynn blinked at him, not realising he'd been awake all this time.

"No, the guy with the gun that's kicking the beetle's ass!" Luffy replied, still pumped up over the idea of recruiting a cool, powerful new crew member.

"Hate to break it to you Luffy, but heroes in movies are just actors!" laughed Lynn. "In real life, I bet that guy couldn't even defeat Usopp!"

"What's that suppose to mean...?" Usopp muttered under his breath.

Luffy's face fell as he cast a fleeting look at Usopp.

"WHAT?" Usopp demanded furiously.

Luffy went back to his ice cream and Lynn continued to watch the end of the 'men in black' movie, both denying Usopp of an answer and leaving him depressed at their underestimation of him.

Soon the movie credits rolled on and Lynn tried to decide on something fun to do after a tiring week. A gaming session sounded ideal.

"Who's up for a game of 'street fighters'?" she declared.

Everyone gave her a funny look.

"You want to fight?" Nami frowned at Lynn's strange request.

"Oh, I forgot, you don't have Playstations on the grand line, do you?" Lynn snapped her fingers in realisation. Everyone just blinked at her. "Playstation." she repeated, "it's a device that lets you play video games and stuff." She got out two game consoles from behind the television stand and plugged them in as she switched on her Playstation 2.

"Oh, I was wondering what that strange machine was," said Nami, examining what Lynn was doing with curious eyes.

Lynn picked her character; Chun-Li of course, since she was the street fighter that most resembled Lynn's own looks. "You'll all love this thing, I promise!" Lynn grinned and plopped onto the floor. "Who wants to versus me?"

Everyone else looked at each other uncertainly, so with a sigh, Lynn chucked the other console up at the person sitting nearest to her on the sofa; Usopp. He stared at the funny looking thing in his hand.

"Choose your character first," Lynn instructed. "And then I'll explain how this thing works."

"What's the difference between each character?" asked Usopp.

"Just their fighting style and skill."

"Pick that guy," said Nami, pointing at Dhalism on the screen. "He looks kind of like you."

"No he doesn't!" Usopp rolled his eyes, but picked Dhalism anyway.

"That's racist in its own way..." Lynn muttered to herself. After quickly explain controls and attacks, the battle began. And Lynn found it strange that she was having a difficult time defeating Usopp; he was surprisingly good for a video game first-timer.

"So this is what it's like being Luffy!" Usopp grinned as he made Dhalism stretch his arm and punch Chun-Li in midair.

"IMPOSTER!" shouted Luffy, pointing at the stretching street fighter with a frown on his face.

"Oh, just wait until you see Mr. Fantastic..." Lynn muttered, thumbs moving across her console furiously.

"USOPP!" shouted a furious voice, and as Usopp head turned to see what the matter was, a thrown spoon smacked itself on the centre of his forehead. "What do you think you're doing, attacking a lady?"

"It's a game, you stupid love-cook!" Usopp yelled back, rubbing the lump now rising off his head. "What is your problem?"

"I win!" declared Lynn. Usopp turned back to the screen and found that he'd been defeated whilst he was distracted.

"That wasn't fair!" he protested.

Lynn just smirked and shot Sanji a thumbs up. Sanji smiled back and sat on to the sofa. Usopp now realised he'd been duped; And smacked by a spoon because Lynn wanted to cheat.

"Usopp, you're so stupid!" snorted Zoro.

"Oh yeah? Let's see you do better!" Usopp chucked the console at Zoro, and Zoro blinked in surprise.

"Huh? Me?"

"I bet I could beat you easily!" laughed Lynn.

Zoro scowled, not wanting to admit defeat so easily, accepted the challenge and sat down in front of the TV. That's when he realised someone had already chose his character for him.

"What the hell is that thing?" he stared at Blanka's beast face with disgust.

"It's the street fighter that most resembles you," chuckled Usopp, who was the one that chose Zoro's character for him.

Everyone else in the room all looked at Blanka, then at Zoro's moss hair and creepy WTF expression, and nodded in agreement.

"HOW IS THAT _THING_ LIKE ME?" Zoro demanded furiously.

"It's like you in so many ways..." muttered Sanji.

"What was that, shit cook?"

"Well this is easy..." giggled Lynn as she attacked Blanka with her might. Zoro snarled when he realised the game had started without him, and pressed the buttons on his console randomly, setting off some electric attacks unintentionally.

"Wow, that monster is like that god on Sky Island," noted Nami as Lynn fretted over her fried-to-a-crisp Chun-Li.

The fight continued, and of course, the outcome was as expected; Zoro lost pitifully.

"I want a go!" declared Nami a she snatched Lynn's console. "And if I beat you, Zoro, your debt to me will be doubled!"

"WHAT?"

"Nami-san is so smart, using this opportunity to slyly rub money off the marimo!" beamed Sanji.

Zoro was NOT pleased. The fight began, and the whole room erupted with cheers and laughter as the navigator and the swordsman battled.

"GO ZORO!" Luffy rooted for his first mate, who was low on life points at the moment. "YOU CAN DO IT! GO..." Luffy stopped mid cheer, and grimaced. "I need the toilet…" he moaned, holding his stomach.

Lynn rolled her eyes. "That's what you get for eating so much ice cream in November!"

He groaned and rushed off to the toilet upstairs, slamming the door behind him. Lynn laughed, and turned back to the playstation. Nami was cheering triumphantly, throwing her arms in the air.

"Ha! I beat Zoro!" she grinned, and Zoro gave her a dirty look.

"It's not like you could beat me in _real_ combat, so quite your sniggering woman."

Nami stuck out her tongue, and Lynn joined in. The swordsman was an insanely strong fighter, but was rubbish when it came to video games! And since the girls could never beat him in reality, they may as well laugh at him while they still had the chance!

"And don't forget your new debt!" Nami winked at Zoro mischievously, making him flinch, and then snarl something about greedy bitches.

Usopp was next to snatch the game console away. "Next up is Captaaaiin Usopp! And I'm gonna kick your ass Roronoa!"

"No you're not," Zoro growled, and the 'battle' began. Lynn watched with amusement as Zoro got more and more irritated when Usopp effortlessly knocked him to the ground multiple times during the first 30 seconds. Looks like the winner was going to be decided very soon, making this one of the fastest defeats of all time. Lynn jumped when she heard her mobile ringing from the coffee table and made her way over to pick it up.

"Ha! In your face Zoro!" Usopp shouted triumphantly, and Zoro's fractious expression couldn't be more epic. Lynn scowled and cursed when she realised she'd missed the best part.

"What?" Lynn demanded irritably into the phone, not please at all with the caller for making her miss the greatest moment of K.O.

"Lynn!" cried Miriam down the line to her. "Quick!"

Lynn blinked at Miriam's urgent tone. "What? What's wrong?"

"Quick! Hide the Straw Hats! You're in big trouble!"

"WHAT?" insisted Lynn, now very concerned.

"Your parents are back! I just saw their car passing town!"

Lynn's heartbeat sped up. "Oh crap, you're kidding. I didn't think they'd be back till next week..."

"They'll be at your house in less than five minutes!"

An uncanny silence fell over the room as the crew began to notice Lynn's horrified expression.

"WHAAAAAAT?" Lynn screamed when she had finally found her tongue. She hung up her phone without saying goodbye to Miriam and went into panic mode.

"What's wrong with you?" frowned Zoro.

"CRAP CRAP CRAP!" she shrieked in response, running around cleaning the messy living room. "My parents are going to be here any minute!"

"Your parents?" Usopp tilted his head. "Is that all? Why are you panicking?"

"Gah! You don't understand!" cried Lynn, grabbing an air freshener and spraying it around the room, trying to clear Sanji's cigarette smoke. "We can't let them know you guys are here! Just listen to me on this one! And put out your smoke Sanji!"

Sanji blinked, but did as he was told.

"I don't want to be grounded for life yet!" she continued to dash around the room like a headless chicken. "Everyone! Go to my room and DON'T COME OUT!"

The straw hats looked at each other, shrugged, and did so.

Downstairs, Lynn spent a few more minutes of cleaning everything up, switched the Playstation off, and she stood back, hoping she had done a good job. Well, at least the room wasn't a tip anymore...

A car engine was heard from outside the front of the house, signifying that Lynn's tidying time was up. Her heart thumped in her chest as she listened to the car back into the garage. The parents were home.

"Everything must look normal, everything must look normal..." Lynn repeated aloud as her eyes scanned the room one last time for anything un-normal. A clean, visible floor surface, a neat sofa, a few cushions, a newspaper, a vase, an empty ice cream tub (how could she have forgotten to chuck that in the bin?), a school bag, a lamp, three katanas, a... wait, WHAT? Lynn panicked all over again. Three katanas under the coffee table was anything BUT normal! The car door slamming outside did not help the situation one bit. Lynn grabbed the katanas and dashed around in circles, freaking out. There was no time to hide them, WHAT NOW?

'Must get rid of these somehow!' Lynn screamed desperately in her head, and on seeing the open side window on the other side of the room, she didn't think twice; not clever, but she didn't. Out flew the three poor katanas and they landed on the pavement outside just as a key was slotted into the keyhole of the front door. Lynn sprinted back as the door opened.

"Hey, Lynn! We're home!" called Mr. Vienna cheerfully, stepping in. "did you miss us?"

"Yes I did!" lied Lynn, standing in the middle of the room awkwardly.

"Did I just hear clattering somewhere?" Mrs. Vienna walked in behind him.

"NO! NOT AT ALL!"

She blinked at Lynn's panicked reaction. But moved in for a hug, embracing her daughter for the first time in weeks. Her husband did the same, but as he pulled back he sniffed the air in the living room, and crinkled his nose. "Is it just me or does it smell funny in here?"

"D-does it?" Lynn smiled innocently, ill at ease.

Mr Vienna sniffed again, and laughed. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were smoking in here and tried to cover it up with air freshener at the last minute!"

Lynn forced a laugh.

"Nah, our Lynn isn't _that_ stupid!" chuckled Mrs. Vienna. "You'd have to be one heck of an idiot to think you could possibly get away with that!"

'Gee, thanks mum,' thought Lynn sarcastically, a fake smile still plastered to her face.

"Anyway, I'm tired," said Mrs Vienna, stretching her arms. "Help us get our luggage upstairs, and we can have a good catch up chat!"

"Sure."

During the entire process of hauling two large suitcases up the stairs, with the help of her dad of course, Lynn thought of all the different ways she could sneak the straw hats out of her house without her parents noticing. Wait till night time? Will the crew really keep it down till then? Climb out of the window? But what if the neighbours notice and assume there's burglars? Just hide them in her room for a few more days? Now that's just impossible.

"Are you ok?" asked a rather concerned Mr Vienna. "You look kind of stressed,"

"Oh, I'm all good!" smiled Lynn, dumping the suitcase on the floor of her parents' room.

"Something's not quite right..." murmured Mrs Vienna from outside in the hallway.

"W-what do you mean?" stammered Lynn, rushing out into the hall to meet her mum.

"It's like I feel some sort of unfamiliar presence."

A chill ran up Lynn's spine and she cast a fleeting glance at her bedroom door, knowing that the straw hat crew lingered behind it. Her mum couldn't possibly sense this, could she? That's just plain freaky.

"Please don't talk like you're sensing ghosts, dear, it's kind of disturbing." Mr Vienna sweat dropped as he walked up to his wife.

"Never mind," smiled Mrs. Vienna. "I bets it's just because I haven't been home for a while and I'm not used to it,"

"Yeah, that'll be why..." Lynn smiled sheepishly and fidgeted.

The toilet flush caused the three of them to turn; and Lynn almost bit her tongue when Luffy walked out of the bathroom casually. Luffy! How could she have forgotten to hide him? Luffy, for some unknown reason, failed to notice the two adults standing in the doorway, and simply walked down the hall, disappearing into Lynn's bedroom. Lynn and her parents stood and gaped.

"There's… a _boy_ in the house?" Mrs. Vienna was shocked. "Who is he?"

"He's a guy from school… Luffy," Lynn said slowly.

Her mum narrowed her eyes. "I thought I said 'no boys aloud' whilst we were away."

"Umm… well… you see…" Lynn began to sweat nervously. She'd been caught red-handed and was finding it impossible to come up with a good excuse whilst her mum's glare burned into her eyes. Yes, her mother had that kind of effect on her. Nami heard their conversation from inside Lynn's bedroom, and decided to step in and help Lynn out.

"Hey, Lynn are you ready?" she asked, walking out of the door, and pretended to be surprised when she saw Lynn's parents. "Oh my," she said to them. "I'm so sorry, I didn't think you'd be home this early!"

Lynn looked at Nami, wondering what she had in plan, and Nami just gave her a small, private wink in response. Mrs. Vienna was confused on seeing the orange haired girl.

"Who is this?" she asked Lynn. Before Lynn could talk, Nami cut in.

"My name is Nami, and I'm a trainee student teacher," she said. "You see, Lynn has trouble with her science work, and her form tutor asked me to help her out."

Lynn's eyes widened as she caught onto Nami's lie. Then she grinned and joined in.

"Yeah, Luffy and I need help with our studies, so Nami is our mentor during weekends."

Nami continued, "To save me time from running house to house, Luffy just comes here instead so I can tutor both of them at the same time!"

Mr. and Mrs. Vienna nodded, completely believing their story. Lynn and Nami shared a look, and flashed a smile at each other. But little did they know, more trouble was to come; their problems were not over just yet.

During Lynn and Nami's teamed lying, Zoro, Sanji and Usopp were leaning against the bedroom door, trying to listen to what was going on. Luffy was struggling around on the floor with a gag in his mouth and tied up with Usopp's handy rope. When he had entered the room earlier, he was knocked down by his crew and suppressed, and they decided to stick a sock ball in his mouth to stop him making too much noise. He had no clue what was going on, since nobody told him, and was certainly not keen on being tied up.

"Move over fat head," Sanji hissed to Zoro, who growled back quietly in response. Usopp just tried to budge both of them over to get a better earful. Whilst the three of them were pushing and shoving at the door, no one noticed that Luffy had managed to spit out the sock ball.

"What's the big idea?" he demanded loudly, and was responded to by three loud shushes; too loud for their own good. Lynn's parents heard this from outside, and decided to investigate, much to Lynn and Nami's exasperation. Mrs. Vienna put a hand on the door handle, and when she pulled the door open, was greeted by three men falling at her feet; literally.

"HUH?" she cried out in surprise. Zoro, Sanji and Usopp looked up at her, and tried to smile innocently. Her attention then shifted over to Luffy, who was still tied up, and she turned to Lynn, her demanding glare intimidating her daughter.

Oh bother. So much for a relaxing weekend...

* * *

Sorry if this chapter was rather rude, but I just HAD to add the biology bit in! XD I got my inspiration from earlier this week. At school, we had this sex-ed lesson, and they were telling us about contraception and safe sex and blah blah blah. My class and I spent half of this lesson rolling our eyes. It's like, we're 15, dammit! We know what a flipping condom is! You don't just give us these lectures for fun! But anyway, that was the case, and during the teacher's little speech about different types of 'protection', I suddenly got my idea for this chapter and I literally shouted, "I GOT IT!" you should have seen those strange looks I got from everyone...

I also remember this time when my little sister came with my dad to parents evening once, and she made the same pronunciation mistake as Luffy when she flicked through my biology file! My dad's expression was priceless, and I just stood there cracking up!

Ok, little 'where-my-ideas-came-from-even-though-you-couldn't-care-less' rant over.

Next time: be prepared to laugh when the straw hats manage to make even more appalling first impressions on Lynn's parents. And get kicked out. Also, Zoro discovers something terrible has happened. Well come on, Lynn DID do something stupid whilst in panic mode...

REVIEW! It only takes a second! Tell me if I ramble on too much or anything in my story! Cause I tend to do that sometimes. :P and please tell me if my 'Next time' captions are misleading. I'm not sure if they are or not. Should I keep doing them? R&R!


	11. Room for Pirates?

Disclaimer: I don't own _One Piece._ Simple as that.

_AN:_ Right, I'm going to do a little advertisement before I start my chapter. (Sorry for the VERY late update. Homework is shit.)

First of all, for all _One Piece_ fans out there who think _One Piece_ is just too EPIC, there's a new YouTube channel that specialises HD videos of all those awesome epic scenes. There's only six or so videos uploaded at the moment, but it is a channel with a lot of potential and I really recommend for you all to check it out! Just type into YouTube 'onepieceepicscenes'. (Yeah, I'm just advertising for a friend here! ^^)

Also, if anyone is interested, I'm starting a story on called 'Ghost.' It's my very own story with my own characters and plot, (no more disclaimers!) and it's based on the theme of humour with a bit of romance and supernatural stuff. Basically, it's about this ghost who spends his days terrorising whoever moves into the house he inhabits and loves nothing better than scaring the shit out of people, but when a girl moves in with her family, he's shocked to find that she seems to be scared of nothing.

The story is about how a girl and a ghost develop a strange friendship and how they cause havoc and overcome bizarre hardships thrown at them. Does it interest you in any way? ^^ If it does, then give it a try! Click on my profile and follow the link I left, or you can just search me on . I use the same penname as I do here. Or you could always leave me a comment or PM if you have any queries.

Now, enough crap. Let's get on with the story, shall we?

**

* * *

**

Chapter 11 – Room for pirates?

Things couldn't possibly get more awkward for Lynn this Friday afternoon. Not only had her plans for hiding the Straw Hats gone kaput, the crew were introduced to her parents in the worst way imaginable.

"There's a perfectly good explanation for this..." Lynn smiled innocently. Her mum wasn't having any of it.

"Who exactly ARE these people?" demanded Mrs. Vienna, a millimetre away from snapping. She wasn't exactly a patient type. Before Lynn could answer, Luffy gladly replied for her.

"Hi! I'm Monkey D. Luffy! The man who's going to become pi—" Nami clamped his mouth shut before he could reveal anything else.

"Oh, they're just friends of mine," Lynn said with a sheepish shrug.

"And, why on earth are they staying at OUR house without permission?" Her mum narrowed her eyes.

"Because they have nowhere else to go," replied Lynn, being half honest.

"What? They have no homes of their own?" Her mum raised an eyebrow.

"Well, technically, yes, but they can't GET home." Lynn thought hard about how to explain, but sighed after a minute or two and settled with, "long story."

Mrs. Vienna was NOT convinced by Lynn's 'brilliant' explanation. "You will explain this 'long story,' young lady, or no further discussions."

Lynn pondered hard over choices of a good cover story. Well, she couldn't exactly tell her parents that her friends were 'vicious' pirates now, could she? For one, they'd never even believe her! First impressions are very important, and Lynn did not want to mess up this introduction.

_Parents: mad = Straw Hats go bye-bye + Lynn: screwed. _

Now, she had to think things through _carefully_…

"WHAT?" Mr. Vienna's voice caused everyone to turn towards him. Lynn slapped her forehead when she saw that Luffy was grinning beside her dad, and had most probably said some things he shouldn't have…

"So one of them is a greedy thief, one of them drinks alcohol, one of them smokes, and one of them plays with guns and cannons?"

"Yep!" grinned Luffy. "And Zoro's a brilliant swordsman, too!"

Mr. Vienna's jaw dropped further. "He plays with knives, too?"

"LUFFY!" Lynn wanted to hit him for saying something like that so carelessly. She didn't have to, because Nami did that for her out of pure anger.

"SHUT UP!" Nami yelled, bringing her fist down on his head fiercely. "Out of all the things you could have said, why that?" She knew that if they were kicked out of the house, it would mean having to rent someplace somewhere for temporary stay, and that would cost _money_. She was so mad that she didn't realise her action wasn't a wise one.

Mr. and Mrs. Vienna stared in shock at the large bump rising off of Luffy's head and glanced at the female thief with her wild and ferocious expression of evil.

Lynn's parents' first impression of Nami: an extremely violent criminal.

Obviously, this was the perfect time for Zoro to butt in with his correction of Mr Vienna's association mistake. "Actually, they're katana, not knives," said Zoro, rolling his eyes. "Don't compare me to the shit cook."

"I don't play with knives, marimo. You insult me by saying that," snarled Sanji. "I use just knives for cooking; God knows what _you_ do when you get physical with your swords."

Zoro's furious death glare at Sanji caused both Mr. and Mrs. Vienna to step back in fear. This 'swordsman' looked like he wanted to skin Sanji alive and fry him before slicing him up into bite size pieces.

Lynn's parents' first impression of Zoro: a potential mass murderer.

Lynn held her head as Zoro and Sanji's bickering began to rouse again. "Please!" she begged in exasperation. "Just pipe down! Both of you!"

"I'll do anything for you, Lynn-chan!" Sanji wriggled his body in happiness and swooned around Lynn. Okay, bad move. She forgot she should have prepared for this...

"What... is he doing?" Mrs. Vienna blinked.

"Oh, Sanji's just always like that when he sees girls!" grinned Luffy.

Staring at Sanji's noodle dance and perverted gaze that was fixed on their daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Vienna exchanged a horrified look. Moreover, neither of them failed to notice the smell of cigarettes lingering on his clothes.

Lynn's parents' first impression of Sanji: a paedophile and possible rapist. And, maybe… a druggy?

"Just stop talking!" Usopp hissed at Luffy, giving him a shove.

Luffy shoved him back but maybe a tad too hard. Usopp, unprepared for such a force to be applied on his shoulder, went toppling and tripped over his own feet, shoulder bag spilling its contents in the process.

"What's this?" asked Mr. Vienna, picking up a round ball from the floor that fell from Usopp's bag.

"Um, that's nothing really..." Usopp said nervously.

"Isn't that your newly invented bomb-thing you showed me the other day?" asked Luffy, pointing at the sphere in Mr. Vienna's hand. Usopp hushed Luffy quickly, but this action allowed Mr. and Mrs. Vienna to confirm that Luffy was telling the truth.

"A b-bomb?" Mr Vienna dropped the thing in shock, flinching as it landed on the floor with a thud. Usopp quickly picked it back up and stuffed it into his bag.

Mr. and Mrs. Vienna exchanged a look and glanced at Usopp's bulging bag. God knows what else was in there, and wasn't he supposedly the one who played with guns and cannons?

Lynn's parents' first impression of Usopp: a terrorist.

"Can this situation get any worse…?" groaned Lynn, rubbing her temples. Actually, the answer was 'yes.'

With a blur of blue and a loud chirp, Luffy was sent stumbling back a few steps by something flying at his face. His straw hat flew away, but he caught it quickly and brought it back in front of him. The bird was simply perched on his head, staring down at him, upside down, with a hopeful look on its face. Lynn and Luffy both blinked, for they recognised the bird.

Glancing at the open window in her bedroom, Lynn didn't have to guess where the bird flew in. 'That bird followed me?' she thought, confused as to what on earth that thing had against her or Luffy, for that matter.

"AARRH!" yelled a voice, and Lynn quickly turned to see what was wrong. Luffy stood, staring at his hat in horror and poking his pinkie through the small hole in the edge of it. His face twisted into a snarl and he grabbed the 'innocent' bird off his shoulder and tried to strangle it.

"You ripped my hat!" he shouted furiously, shaking the poor bird back and forth.

"Twi… tw- tweeet!" (translation: I... d-didn't mean... to!) screeched the bird, gasping for breath.

The Straw Hats and Lynn all knew Luffy's rule of 'never mess with the hat,' but a certain couple of parents didn't. And, they didn't see why Luffy snapped and was trying to kill poor bird.

Lynn's parents' first impression of Luffy: an animal slaughterer.

Nami pinched Luffy's cheek and whilst distracted, he loosened his grip on the bird, allowing it to flutter away, landing itself on the nearest 'safe' shoulder it could find, which just happened to be Lynn's.

Mrs. Vienna seemed to take this the wrong way. "Oh, so you're keeping pets without permission now?" demanded Mrs. Vienna, glaring at Lynn furiously.

"You know how much your mum hates animals in the house," said Mr. Vienna, shaking his head.

"But, wait, I don't even know this bird!" Lynn protested quickly.

"Well_ it_ seems to know _you_," Mrs. Vienna persisted. "And, it flew from out of _your_ room."

"Hey, but it's not _my_ fault that thing's following me!" Of course, her parents assumed that was just another excuse.

"I am very disappointed with you, young lady," scowled Lynn's furious mum. "That was the final straw. You're GROUNDED!"

The last word was spat with such intensity that everyone in the hall, including the bird, flinched and cowered slightly. Seeing the situation was tight, the bird decided to evacuate itself and shot through the window, leaving fast as lightning. Mrs. Vienna ignored the bird as she eyed everyone, excluding her husband, with an evil glare.

"And, I'm going to have to ask your _friends_ to leave," she said to Lynn, emphasising the word 'friends' as if she meant 'scoundrels' or 'partners in crime.'

"But mu-"

"NO BUTS!" shouted Mrs. Vienna, cutting her daughter off and making her recoil. Then she added in a hiss, "Don't come back until you've gotten rid of them."

Lynn stood to attention, probably out of terror, and obediently shooed the pirate crew downstairs and out of the front door, half dragging, half shoving.

"I can't believe our daughter is hanging around with people like _them_," scowled Mrs. Vienna, pinching the bridge of her nose as the front door slammed shut. "Honestly, kids these days."

* * *

"Great. Just great." Lynn sighed as she walked with the Straw Hats down the street. All of them had been kicked out of the house; even Lynn, if only temporarily.

"What does 'grounded' mean?" asked Luffy, picking his nose casually.

"It's a terrible punishment for kids who do not obey their 'almighty parents'," said Lynn, sneering the last two words. "Basically, for the next week or so, I have no freedom whatsoever. No telly, no video games, no non-school-related outings; nothing."

"That's harsh," said Nami, feeling sorry for Lynn.

"And it's all thanks to you guys!" Lynn yelled at the boys.

"What was wrong with you back there?" asked Usopp. "Usually you're feisty when it comes to arguments, but you looked like you were going to shit yourself when your mum shouted at you." Lynn glared at him and he grumbled, "Okay, okay, exaggeration…"

"I'm not scared of my mum or anything," explained Lynn, "In fact, I'm usually the one that wins our arguments. But, that's because she's unreasonable. Today, I hate to admit it, it was kind of my fault in the first place."

Sanji protested with this statement, but everyone ignored him. It was indeed true that they were in the wrong. Lynn was about to scowl at Luffy for his idioticness during their introductions, but stopped when she saw his pained expression. She felt sorry for him.

"Stupid bird…" grumbled Luffy, holding his Straw Hat protectively.

"Don't worry, I'll fix it later," reassured Nami, and Luffy nodded, more at ease. Nami then turned to Lynn and pulled a face. "So, what now?"

"How would I know?" Lynn shrugged, "I didn't plan for this."

"Well, don't you have hotels or anything in your world?" asked Zoro.

"Oh, a hotel!" Lynn's face lit up. "That's a good idea!"

Everyone, apart from Luffy, sweat dropped at her slowness. It was as if she completely forgot there were such things called hotels around; well, maybe she did. We might never know…

* * *

(Somewhere across the town…)

A strange man stood in the middle of a room in a place that was unfamiliar to him. Looking around the area with his make-up coated eyes, he pouted.

"What is this place?" he wondered aloud.

The room looked like a bedroom, yet different. What were those rectangular boxes blasting out noises? What was that other box with flashing images? What was that _other_ box and small mouse-like piece of plastic on the desk? Why were there so many weird boxes? 'Confused' could not even _begin_ to describe his emotions. There was also a part of him that was excited to see such a new environment. That light he had accidentally walked through… was it magic?

"W-WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

There was a man sitting on the bed, with weird things sticking into his ears—a young man in his twenties with a nose ring and spiky hair. He was a gang leader, who was still pissed off about a matter many days ago, as his revenge had STILL not taken place. Jason was his name to be specific. He had been sitting in his bedroom, minding his own business, when some _freak_ suddenly intruded.

The intruder turned at Jason's voice, not realising beforehand that there was someone in the room, and Jason jumped when he saw the intruder's face and clothing clearly.

_What the heck?_ Was it Halloween? No, that had passed already... But, the man that stood before him wore some sort of ballerina costume with stupid swan heads and wings sticking from both shoulders. His face was made-up in the most ridiculous way. It should have been embarrassing, even for a girl, to be presented in such a disgusting manner. The guy was a freaking _he-she_!

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?" yelled Jason, thinking this he-she was maybe an escapee from some mental hospital somewhere, and _somehow_ wound up into his room through a random light which appeared then disappeared and turned into a piece of wood.

Jason paused for a second. Light... wood… That sounded familiar…

"You're not from the Great Line, are you?" asked Jason cautiously. His friend's, Buggy's, descriptions of his arrival sounded too coincidentally similar. He could only think this he-she was from the same world as the strange clown-captain.

"You mean, the _Grand_ Line?" the he-she clarified.

"Yeah, whatever."

The ballerina he-she twirled over happily to where Jason sat. "You seem to know a lot!" he beamed with eager eyes as if expecting answers from this man, who was getting rather creeped out. "Can you tell me where I am?"

"You're in my freaking bedroom," Jason replied irritably. This he-she was REALLY beginning to disturb him deeply. But, suddenly, a thought sprung to mind and despite himself, he asked the ballerina, "Do you have powers?"

The ballerina was surprised at this random question, but gladly and proudly replied, "I have the power of the Mane-Mane fruit!"

"What kind of power is that?" Jason asked, now more curious than disturbed.

"It lets me imitate anyone I want just by touching my face!" the he-she exclaimed, demonstrating by touching Jason's right cheek, then his own, and—suddenly Jason was staring at himself! (Wearing ridiculous ballerina clothes and swans, though.) The gang leader's eyes widened in disbelief as he gaped at his own face and heard the he-she say in his borrowed voice, "I can even memorise the faces I copied!"

"That is… weird…" said Jason with a gulp. This he-she's powers came to the same standard of 'weird' as that splitting ability possessed by Buggy.

The he-she twirled gleefully, ballerina style, taking Jason's comment as a compliment. Jason wanted to punch the guy for using his body to do such nauseating looking things, but he restrained himself, for if he befriended this guy, his powers might prove handy.

Jason got off his bed and headed over to where the light had once stood and bent over to pick up the piece of wood that lay on the floor in its place. This shard of wood was indeed the same as the one Buggy had handed him previously.

"Can you fight?" asked Jason as he put the wood into his pockets, deciding to hold onto it for the time being.

"Fight? Yeah, sure I can!"

Jason turned to the he-she with a raised eyebrow. The ballerina touched his face with his left hand, turned himself back, and said, "I'm a powerful Cross-Dressing Kenpo user!" He pulled a strange battle posture pose.

Jason ignored the fighting style's ridiculous name. For some reason, he really did believe the fact that this strange he-she was a strong fighter. "You know what? I'll tell you everything you need to know, if you just help me with something."

"Sure thing!" the he-she grinned, glad that he had made a new friend.

Jason grimaced as he looked his new ally up and down again. His puffy costume just seemed to get weirder by the minute. This guy needs some new clothes. Desperately.

"So what's your name?" asked Jason, only just realising they hadn't even introduced themselves yet.

"I'm an ex-Baroque works member!" declared the he-she. "Bon-chan!"

* * *

"Let's try this place," suggested Lynn as she pointed at the door to the small hotel that stood before them. "It's a nice, clean place and conveniently near my house. It's also a bed and breakfast hotel, so it serves morning meals, too, in the form of a mini-buffet."

Luffy's eyes lit up at the mention of buffets.

Lynn shook her head pitifully. "But, with that bottomless food pit around, you guys are so going to get kicked out. I doubt they'll be able to make enough food to keep him satisfied."

Everyone looked at Luffy accusingly as he continued to drool over the thought of food.

"Maybe… we should make our own meals," suggested Sanji. "We just have to convince them to let us use their kitchen, right?"

"Yeah, that'll work out, I think," said Lynn, nodding thoughtfully as Sanji began to do his noodle dance again for some unknown reason.

"Yosha!" cried out Luffy. "Let's go!" And, with that, he disappeared into the building.

Everyone else followed him in with a shrug and once entered, they looked around the reception hall with curiosity (except for Lynn, of course). This place was, again, similar to what they had back on the Grand Line, yet rather different; probably most significantly the computer on the reception desk and the monitor screens behind the counter.

Lynn stepped up to the lady sitting at reception and requested the straw hats some accommodations. As expected, though, since their arrival was on such short notice, the hotel was short on rooms.

"Well, what do you have?" Nami asked the receptionist.

"We have a single room and two doubles; that's all."

"That'll be enough for the five of us," said Nami with a nod. She then turned to Lynn and stuck out a hand.

"What?" Lynn asked.

"My money please," Nami responded, motioning for Lynn's credit card with her fingers.

"_Your_ money?" Lynn blinked. "I thought you split it with me?"

"But that money was to feed Luffy, and since he's in our care now I demand to have my money back," Nami announced.

Lynn's jaw dropped at Nami's cheeky nerve, yet she couldn't argue, for it was true that money was to feed the Straw Hat captain. So, grumbling in annoyance, Lynn handed over her credit card and hoped to herself that her parents wouldn't find out about this.

"My savings are still on there," informed Lynn. "You have to come with me to the bank tomorrow to get this money issue sorted out."

Nami agreed and grinned as she handed the receptionist the card for payment of their accommodations. The lady typed some information into her computer database and handed Nami three keys to their rooms.

"Right. Then who…?" Lynn turned towards the crew and realised Usopp was missing then sweat dropped when she scanned the area and detected him.

"…and then I defeated this giant alien cockroach!" boasted Usopp to the guard standing at the door, who was rolling his eyes at the young man's obvious lies.

Lynn quickly shuffled over to Usopp, grabbed his collar and hauled him over to the rest of the group. "Okay, now who shares a room with who?" she continued.

"I get the single room, of course, being the only girl," said Nami, twirling the key labelled 'room 43' on her finger. "So you four can split among yourselves." She threw the other two keys to Usopp who was standing nearest to her.

"So…?" Usopp looked at the other boys.

"I don't mind," shrugged Sanji. "As long as I'm not stuck with the shitty sword screwer."

"What the hell was that?" demanded Zoro, and the two began yet another stare down.

"I'll bet you a thousand quid those two can't spend even a night alone in the same room," muttered Lynn sarcastically to no one in particular. She forgot Nami has radar ears when it came to mentioning money. Nami now leaned over to Lynn, beri signs in her eyes.

Lynn giggled nervously. "You've got the currency wrong," she said, feeling anxious.

Nami ignored that statement and rubbed her hands together greedily. "A thousand quid you say? One thousand… that's about 100,000 beri…"

Lynn swallowed uneasily, not liking that look in her eyes. "N-Nami? I wasn't serious."

"You can't take it back now!" sang Nami.

"But, it was only a figure of speech!"

Nami wasn't listening. "Sanji-kun?" she cooed, walking up to him. "Can you share the same room as Zoro? If you do I'd be ever so happy!"

Sanji's anger at the marimo immediately vanished and was replaced with love-sickness. "Whatever you say, Nami-swan!"

"Oi! Where's my say in this? I am _not_ sharing a room with the shit-cook!" snarled Zoro.

"Do you want me to raise the interest in your debt?" hissed Nami threateningly, and the swordsman flinched before turning away, cursing and defeated.

Lynn panicked slightly, knowing better than to gamble with Nami, especially when it was obvious she was going to lose. She only had a few hundred pounds left of her savings; getting into debt with the money-loving navigator was not a smart thing to do. "Nami, I wasn't seriou—" Her voice trailed off as Nami shot her a death glare. "N-Nami…?" Lynn swallowed and nodded slowly, unwillingly agreeing to whatever Nami wanted.

"Yosh!" grinned Nami. "I'm smelling money in my pocket very soon!" With that, she turned and walked off, singing cheerfully about how she loved to collect debts.

Just perfect…

"Let's go and find our rooms, guys," said Usopp, throwing Sanji his room keys. Zoro grumbled in discontent that he had to share a room with his nemesis but could do nothing more.

"'Room 44'," Sanji read off the label dangling off the key. "Nice number…"

Lynn tilted her head, wondering what was wrong with that number.

"The number '4' sounds similar to the word 'death'," Usopp explained in a whisper to her. "It's unlucky. Why do you think I gave them that room?"

Lynn crinkled her nose. "Superstitious freak."

Usopp shrugged, glad he and Luffy didn't have to sleep in the 'death' room.

* * *

Zoro's jaw dropped open. "What the…"

"… _HELL_?" Sanji finished for him.

Both men stood in the hotel corridor and gaped in shock at their room. Neither could believe their goddamn rotten luck.

Luffy and Usopp's room was a tidy, simple double room, with two single beds, complete with an en suite. Room '45'.

Maybe it _was_ something in the number. Room '44', which Usopp had wisely turned down, was indeed a room of 'death.' Well, it was for the two arch enemies, anyway. There, in the middle of their large room stood only a double bed. With only the one king sized duvet.

Zoro gulped. Sanji gagged. Both looked at each other and nearly threw up.

This was disturbingly wrong. Something _had _to be done.

The next ten minutes were crammed with Zoro and Sanji arguing over who was going to have to sleep on the floor.

"It doesn't look safe in there," Lynn whispered to Luffy, the two of them peeking in from the door. "Why don't you and Usopp just switch rooms with them? You're not bothered about having to share a bed, are you?"

Luffy shook his head, but Usopp cut in with his complaint. "I'm not sleep in the 'death' room!"

"I don't mind," shrugged Luffy, and Usopp whacked him on the head.

"Idiot! You won't be saying that when something terrible happens in that cursed room!"

Lynn rolled her eyes. "Oh, so now it's cursed? How stupid can you get?"

"Says the shrimp who's terrified of rabbits…." grumbled Usopp. A second later he was lying on the ground with a fractured skull.

"Anyway," continued Lynn, "I have a bad feeling about those two…" She glanced at Zoro and Sanji, who both had blazing fires of fury rising from their bodies.

"Why don't you cut the bed in half?" Luffy suggested loudly, and the cook and swordsman paused.

"WHAT KIND OF AN IDEA IS THAT?" screamed Lynn.

_Crash, crack, crackle, __**boof**__!_

Lynn turned slowly and grimaced when she saw what had happened to the poor hotel bed. It was split in two but only the wooden framework; the mattress was still intact. This must have been Sanji's handiwork.

"That half's mine, and that splintered half is yours." Sanji dragged his half of the bed to one side of the room.

"Fine, then I get the mattress," said Zoro. Sanji wasn't keen on sleeping on bare wood though.

The next five minutes were an argument about who takes the mattress.

"We're back where we started," sighed Lynn. She looked at the pitiful state the bed was in and muttered, "Oh, you guys are in deep shit when the maid comes tomorrow morning."

"This would be so much easier if I just halved the mattress, too!" Zoro reached for his katana. He wiggled his fingers, only grabbing air where his katanas were suppose to be, and frowned, remembering that he had left them at Lynn's house. He turned to her.

"Where are my katana?"

Lynn froze. Her mind reeled back to what happened during panic mode. She grimaced and looked at Zoro slowly with an awkward semi-innocent, semi-guilty look. Zoro stared at her, and his expression darkened.

"What... the hell... did you do...?" he hissed slowly.

"I-I never chucked them out of the window!" she hastily declared, waving her hands in front of her.

"You WHAT?"

"I'll fetch them now!" Lynn shouted as she turned and ran away, terrified of Zoro's glare. He could be pretty scary when he wanted...

Zoro scowled as he watched Lynn leave, then sighed and went over to Usopp, still lying on the floor. "Lend me a knife, will you?"

_

* * *

_

Ring ring!

Nami's temporary mobile, provided by Lynn, began to ring, and she answered it whilst lying on her back on the soft hotel bed.

"Hello?"

"...Nami?" Lynn's voice on the other end of the line sounded timid and uncertain. Nami hadn't heard Lynn sounding like this before.

"Is something wrong?" Nami asked with a frown.

"Um... are you alone?"

"Well, it's almost midnight. Of course I'm alone. Speaking of which, why didn't you turn up again after running off to get Zoro's katana? He told us about that, and he's been irritable all evening because of it."

"Ah, see, there's a reason for that..."

Nami raised an eyebrow, not liking Lynn's tone when she said that. "What do you mean?"

"Err, I have a little problem..."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Y-you know how I threw his katana ou-out of the w-window?"

"Yeah, they told me. That pissed him off big time."

"A-a-a-and you know h-h-how they landed in the middle of the-the-the st-street?"

"Uh huh, and you were suppose to bring them back."

"B-b-b-but... w-well..."

"_Spit it out!_"

"J-just d-don't tell anyone else, o-o-okay?"

Nami sighed but agreed. Then she pressed the phone against her ear to listen to what Lynn had to say, and her eyes widened in horror.

"ZORO'S KATANA ARE MISSING!" screeched Nami in shock. A loud _THUD_ and _crash_ could be heard from next door, and that's when Nami realised that just _maybe_ she had shouted a bit too loudly.

"Don't let Zoro find out!" pleaded Lynn desperately.

"Err... I think it might be too late..." Nami glanced at the wall that separated her room and Zoro's and sweat dropped, thinking back to the noises that came from there a second ago. "But, I could help you get out of this mess!" said Nami cheerfully to Lynn. "My services aren't cheap, but they are of great quality! I'll even cut half price for you! At the cost of—Hello? _Hello?_" Nami took the mobile away from her ear and stared at it, listening to the dialling tone at the other end.

Lynn had hung up.

"How rude..." tutted Nami.

* * *

In his room, Zoro lay in a heap on the floor from falling off his half of the mattress/bed frame-combination in shock, scowling up at the ceiling and listening to the annoying snoring of the shit-cook lying on the bed adjacent to his. He was too angry and too distressed to move.

"I'm going to kill that shrimpy bitch one day..." he snarled as his mind reeled through all the vicious methods of murder.

Maybe Mrs. Vienna's impression of him wasn't as inaccurate as one would think…

_

* * *

_

AN:

Well, what did you _think_ would happen to three bladed weapons found unnamed in 21st century streets? And Jason has yet another weird and wonderful ally! Bon-chan is my favourite baddie in One Piece. He's so weirdly funny! And, I have a good use for his powers later on! ;D

Oh, yeah, and the number '4' superstition? Most people should know this, but if you don't, then Usopp basically had explained it all. In Japan and a few other Asian countries (e.g.: China), consider '4' to be unlucky because it sounds like their character for 'death'. So, sometimes hotel rooms and car plates in these countries would try to exclude the number '4'. Because '4' is eeeeevil. :P

And a big shout out to 'Rexan' for beta-ing this chapter for me! Thanks a lot! :D

**Next time:** Zoro's precious katana are missing, and he's not about to let that lie. Major funnies await in the next chapter. XD If you like good humoured Zoro torture, you'll be in for a treat. ;D Please remember to R&R! My next update might take a while, so sorry about that, but please be patient! I promise it'll be good! ^^


	12. Missing Katana

AN: Holy… It's been like, two months since I last updated. O_O' Um… sorry about that…

But, it's the summer! 8D No more stupid school! YAY! So, because I'm feeling happy and generous, free cookies for all that review! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own _One Piece_, that's all there's for me to say. _*Zoro walks over*_

Zoro: Hey, you seen the girl who wrote this thing? Apparently she's called 'silverstar94.'

SS: _*blinks*_ Huh?

Zoro: You know; the one that comes up with all the crap ideas to torture me in this story.

SS: Oh, well…

Zoro: _*scowls*_ That bitch took my katana and hid them. _*evil glare into space*_

SS: …

Zoro: You know her?

SS: _*innocent smile*_ No! Not at all! _*shuffles away*_

Chapter 12 - Missing katana 

_'__Intense math revision in progress: Do not disturb.'_

After hanging up her sign on her bedroom door, Lynn sneaked down stairs quietly, careful not to alert her parents in their bedroom. She grabbed an apple - her breakfast - off the dinner table and slipped out of the house into the morning sunlight. She was nervous as she made her way over to the hotel in which the Straw Hat crew were staying; she didn't really want to have to face Zoro's wrath. She crunched on her apple as Zoro's angry facial expression popped into mind, and shuddered. Scary…

* * *

"I've been waiting for you." Nami stood at the hotel door with her arms crossed as she watched Lynn approach cautiously.

"…Is Zoro around?"

"He's upstairs in his room, stressing out."

"Oh…"

"It's all your fault you know," accused Nami. "He didn't sleep at all last night. Too busy circling his room, cursing your ass off. He kept me up half the night, too, with all that shuffling around."

Lynn grimaced.

"Speaking of last night…" Nami raised an eyebrow. "Why on earth didn't you stop those idiots from breaking the hotel bed?"

"Err… It wasn't like I _could_…"

Nami sighed.

"Um, you didn't have to compensate for it, did you?" Lynn shuffled on her feet uneasily.

"No. If we did, I wouldn't be standing here, _talking_ to you would I?" Nami smiled 'sweetly.' Lynn sweat dropped.

_'__No, she wouldn't,'_ Lynn realised. _'She'd be strangling me.' _

"But, it wasn't like we got away with it either," said Nami. "Sanji-kun and Zoro now have a part time job."

"Eh?" Lynn blinked. "What happened?"

Nami smirked thoughtfully. "Well…"

_(Flashback)_

Zoro took the knife from Usopp's bag and, with great concentration, slit the mattress in two in one hasty swipe.

"All done," said Zoro, tossing the knife back at Usopp who had sat up from the ground. It landed beside his leg, blade down, digging deep into the carpeted floor of the hotel corridor. Usopp shrieked in shock and jumped away from the knife, with his eyes wide and alert. "ZORO! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?"

Everyone ignored him.

"See? Now you two don't have to argue anymore!" declared Luffy cheerfully.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

Everyone turned to the source of the shocked and heated cry. Nami stood at the doorway, looking quite traumatized.

"What did you do to the bed?" she screamed.

"They halved it," answered Luffy and received a bash on the head.

"I can see that, idiot!" Nami glared at Zoro and a swooning Sanji. "What were you two idiots thinking?"

"If you thought I would spend a night with _that_ asshole on_ that_ bed, go knock some sense into yourself," Zoro sneered.

"_I'll_ knock some sense into _you_!" yelled Sanji. "How dare you talk to Nami-san like that?"

Yeah, and thus yet another fight commenced between the two.

"I'm hungry," announced Luffy randomly. "Let's have some dinner."

Nami sighed heavily. "This world is filled with hopeless idiots…"

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"

Everyone turned and in the corridor stood a pudgy, middle aged man, carrying the same expression as Nami had moments ago; except he looked a bit angrier…

"I demand to know what you youngsters are doing to hotel property!" he shouted.

"…And, you are?" questioned Zoro, with a raised eyebrow.

"What's the matter, manager?" shouted a young man wearing hotel uniform, running down the corridor to the commotion. "Did you find out what all the noise was?" He stopped when he arrived, and his jaw dropped to the floor. Almost literally.

"Manager?" Nami grimaced. "Oh crap…"

Zoro sighed and explained the situation to the furious manager. "See, that crazy orange haired woman over there made a gamble with her friend and stuck me and that shit head—" Sanji scowled. "—in the same room against our wish, so it's all her fault, really. Just because she's a treasure hungry bi-"

Nami bashed him over the head and he crumpled to the floor. Sighing, she then pinched the bridge of her nose and thought for second before continuing.

"Look, I know we were wrong, so… we'll… compensate."

The Straw Hats stared at her, unable to believe what they were hearing. Like hell their greedy navigator would actually own up and propose to compensate! Either this girl wasn't Nami, or sanity no longer exists.

A cheeky smiled stretched over Nami's face and she flicked a thumb at Zoro and Sanji who stood behind her. "These guys can work for free here at the hotel until they pay off their debt!"

Should have seen it coming, really. Zoro slapped his forehead in exasperation, but Sanji was just over the moon to know he could please his dear Nami.

"See, both of them are insanely strong, and Sanji here is also a first class cook," continued Nami, and Sanji wiggled his body at the compliment. The manager looked at the two men thoughtfully. A cook… having a cook that required no wages was indeed a handy thing… and that bulky green-haired guy looked like he could be the perfect security guard for scaring off any scoundrels…

"Deal," smiled the manager, shaking hands with Nami.

_(End of flashback)_

"And, that's pretty much how it happened." Nami smiled.

Lynn rolled her eyes at the fact Nami had made a deal out of her friends, but didn't say anything. After all, Lynn _did_ almost cause the death of Luffy a while ago when she chucked him on a date into a swimming pool with that crazy Jess.

"Never mind that," said Lynn. "We need to get a move on if we want to sort out this money business at the bank. I'm sneaking out, you know."

"Yes, I know," said Nami. "But before we do anything, don't you think you should go apologise to Zoro first? You're the one that lost his katana, and you should know how precious those are to him."

"B-but I'm pretty certain I can get them back though," said Lynn with fake confidence. "It's not like they'll be destroyed if they're found. They're probably just… um… lurking about… somewhere… in the country."

"Lurking somewhere in the country." Nami rolled her eyes. "That's a great reassurance. Go tell that to Zoro."

Lynn's expression was one mixed between panic and dread. "D-do I have to?"

"Yes," Nami persisted, shoving Lynn towards the entrance of the hotel. "You do."

* * *

In the room of number 44, a certain green-haired swordsman sat on the ground bare-chested (here's some fan-service left for your imagination ;P), grumbling to himself, lifting and dropping his half of the bed with one hand as if it was a weight. A good morning work-out usually helped him to relieve stress. But the creaking of wood and the swordsman's mumbling was an inconvenient disturbance to the soundly sleeping cook on the other side of the room. Finally, unable to stand it any longer, Sanji sat up with a grunt.

"Keep it down!" he groaned. "It's still early; some people are trying to sleep!"

"Shut it," came a simple response.

"Irritated much?" Sanji raised an eyebrow. Zoro cursed something along the lines of agreement and Sanji sighed, complaining, "Well, please be irritated in silence."

"Bastard," muttered Zoro to himself. "It's not my fault the little shrimpy bitch went and lost my katana…"

"Lynn-chan lost your katana?" Sanji jerked up and stared at Zoro wide eyed, overhearing his mumbling.

An awkward silence fell over them for a moment; but Sanji broke it by bursting out in laughter.

"HAHA!" he hooted. "Nice one, Lynn-chan! I hope someone finds them and melts them into a spatula!"

"I'LL KILL YOU!" With a roar, Zoro dropped his 'weight' and threw himself at the unprepared cook, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Without the aid of his katana, he could only think to use his hands. Forgetting the fact that he only wore a pair of shorts, Zoro heaved himself on top of Sanji, trying to strangle him.

And Lynn chose this perfect time to walk into the room.

"Look, Zoro, I'm sorry for… OH GOD!" Lynn stumbled, taken aback. Both men on the floor looked up. "WOAH!" Lynn quickly slapped a hand over her eyes and edged out of the room repeating loudly, "I didn't see anything… I didn't see anything… I didn't see ANYTHING!"

Zoro opened his mouth to yell at her, but Sanji beat him to it.

"Wait! Lynn-chan!" Sanji struggled under Zoro's massive weight. "GET OFF ME, YOU GODDAMN MARIMO!" With a grunt, he kicked hard upwards and sent the swordsman flying across the room. Then Sanji leapt up and ran after Lynn, leaving Zoro cursing and swearing as he crashed in a heap, head over heels against the wall.

* * *

"Have you apologised?" Nami raised an eyebrow as Lynn towards her from the stairs, looking rather disturbed.

"I think I just saw something I shouldn't have…"

"…Huh?" Nami uttered, confused.

"Lynn-chwan~!" cried Sanji as he pranced after Lynn. "It was a misunderstanding! A HUGE misunderstanding!"

"Yeah, okay," agreed Lynn, though her expression clearly expressed she wasn't convinced.

"Right… What happened?" Nami rolled her eyes.

"Maybe those yaoi fan-girls weren't all that crazy after all…" Lynn muttered to herself thoughtfully.

"What?"

"Never mind," said Lynn, ignoring Sanji who was still trying to protest about the misunderstanding. "I apologized, sort of, so can we go to the bank now?"

"Yeah, sure," said Nami. "Let's—"

"What's going on?" asked a curious voice suddenly. Everyone turned to see Luffy poking his head out from some double doors on the other side of the reception area. Isn't that… the hotel canteen? Luffy flinched when he noticed Sanji standing there, too, and tried to duck back into the canteen. It was no use, though.

"Luffy!" yelled Sanji, sending a flying kick at the rubber boy. "You bastard, that's the third time in twelve hours I've caught you in there! Scoff any more hotel food and I'll sell you to pay off our debt!"

"Dang!" cried Luffy, dodging Sanji's attack. "Caught again!"

They chased around in random circles whilst the girls sweat dropped.

"Um, okay… Should we leave them be, then?" Lynn asked.

Nami merely shrugged.

"OI! YOU!"

Lynn turned in horror to see Zoro stomping over to her from the stairs, a dark aura rising off his body. "I have a bone to pick with you…"

"_I'm sorry-yy-yyy!_" screamed Lynn, running off for her life before Zoro could begin to (possibly) attack.

"LYNN!" yelled Nami. "Come back here!"

Lynn didn't listen, and she was surprisingly fast at running.

"Luffy, grab her," commanded Nami, catching hold of him just as he ran past. Sanji stopped chasing and although glaring at him, waited for Luffy to complete Nami's order.

The rubber boy pulled back his right arm dutifully and shot it out, slinging it around Lynn's waist and reeling her in. She flew back and knocked both of them over.

"_Ow!_" Lynn complained. "What was that for?"

Nami whacked her one when as Lynn sat up from the ground. "Lynn, if you run off like that, how do you expect to get anything done today?" she demanded.

"Being hunted by a potential mass murderer is scarier than it seems!" Lynn grumbled, rubbed the lump on her head, and peeked at the swordsman, feeling abnormally intimidated.

Nami sighed as Lynn shuffled away from Zoro and hid behind a swooning Sanji. "Look, let's sort this out. You can get his katana back for sure, right?"

Lynn hesitated.

"_Right!_" Nami demanded.

"R-right."

Nami then turned to Zoro and said, "You heard me, yeah? If you want your katana back then you can't kill her. Oh, and you cannot run off on your own, either. Direction clueless as you are, running off can only mean pointless trouble. Got that?"

Zoro grumbled agreement reluctantly.

"Do you promise?" Nami insisted.

"Yeah, whatever."

"_Do you?_"

"I do," he said, rolling his eyes.

"And, do you promise to get his katana back?" Nami demanded of Lynn.

"I do…" said Lynn with only a hint of confidence.

"See? Now wasn't that easy?" said Nami.

"What is this, a wedding ceremony?" asked a confused Usopp, emerging from the stairs, only to be attacked by the glares Zoro and Lynn gave him.

"NO, YOU IDIOT!" they shouted.

Nami ignored the commotion and announced, "Okay. This goes for all of us; money comes first, so Lynn and I will go to the bank quickly, and then search for Zoro's katana afterwards. Deal?"

Did they have any choice but to agree?

* * *

Sanji whistled to himself as he peeled potatoes at a work top in the hotel kitchen. The large room was bustling at the moment as the hotel cooks rushed around to prepare breakfast buffets. Zoro stood at the side of the work top, bored as hell and nearly falling asleep. Nami and Lynn had been out for almost two hours now, and before leaving, they had left Sanji in charge of making sure Zoro was within sight at all times. Sanji, despite wanting nothing to do with the marimo, agreed to whatever the ladies wanted. Stupid, no?

Zoro slumped slightly, nearing the gas cookers. On feeling a burning sensation on the back of his neck, the swordsman jumped and knocked over a few pots of porridge whilst he was at it.

"YOU IDIOT!" bellowed Sanji as other cooks began to look over to see what the noise was. "You've ruined them!"

Instantly, Sanji raised his leg and brought it down on Zoro, aiming for his head; and on instinct, Zoro grabbed the nearest katana-like things and defended himself.

There was a rather awkward silence as everyone stared at Sanji and Zoro, one trying to attack and the other blocking the fierce kick with twin long baguettes held in a cross shape. Sanji's eyes widened as he saw his own shoe prints in the middle of two beautifully baked baguettes, and without a second thought, kicked Zoro out of the kitchen, shouting, "Go to hell!"

Outside, Zoro grumbled and cursed, but then paused and wondered aloud, "Does this mean I'm free to go?"

* * *

"That certainly took longer than I thought," whined Lynn as she and Nami walked back to the hotel from their trip to the bank.

Nami just grinned to herself, rubbing her new credit card against her cheek in happiness, purring like a kitten. "I'm rich," she squealed joyfully. "And Lynn owes me 100,000 berries!"

Lynn grumbled to herself in discontent. Her savings were no were near enough to pay off that stupid debt, so now she was stuck under Nami-harassment for payment. Just like Zoro. Great…

The girls, after arriving back at the hotel, went straight to the kitchen to see how Sanji and Zoro were doing. Nami poked her head through the doors and said to Sanji, "Hey, we're back!"

"NAMI-SWAAAN!" grinned Sanji, sweeping outside to greet her like a mini whirlwind. "Oh, how I missed you, my dear! Ah! And, Lynn-chan, too!" he added gleefully when he noticed Lynn.

The girls ignored him (as usual), and Nami raised her eyebrows when she couldn't see Zoro anywhere. "Um… Where's Zoro?"

"The marimo?" Sanji blinked, scanned the area, and his face fell. "Oh, shit…"

* * *

"Now if I were katana, where would I hide?"

Zoro was wandering the street, looking around. Surely his friends had told him many times that he wasn't to run off on his own, but how else was he supposed to find his katana? Zoro wasn't prepared to let his treasured katana go missing. Especially not Wado Ichimonji. Kuina's face flashed in his mind and he clenched his fists in determination that he wasn't about to let her dream die. Despite being convinced by Nami that Lynn could definitely get them back, he wasn't willing to rely on that girl entirely.

Zoro stopped as he noticed something that caught his attention. There was an old man not far away, picking up litter and bottles from the streets and putting them in a huge bin bag he carried. Zoro thought the man might know some helpful information, so he decided to go and ask.

"Excuse me," said Zoro, approaching the old man, "can you help me with something?"

The old man frowned. "Help? No, I'm fine, thanks. I don't need help."

"Um, no. I said, can you help _me_."

"What? Speak a little louder, please! My hearing isn't so great."

Zoro raised his voice a bit and said, "Have you seen any katana lying around?"

"Cats? No. No cats here."

Zoro sweat dropped. "No, I said 'katana'. Ka-ta-na."

The old man strained his ears to listen. "Ka-what?"

"Katana! A metal, bladed weapon!"

"Mantle?"

"Metal."

"Mental?"

Zoro was thoroughly exasperated now. "Metal! Emm-ee-tee-ay-el. Metal!"

"Oh, metal! Well, why didn't you just say so?" The old man pointed to a large, green plastic container at the side of the street. "Someone might have put it in there."

"What's that?" asked Zoro, frowning.

"A hat? It's something that you wear on your head."

Zoro felt like banging his head on a brick wall. "No, not a hat! I said, _What's_— You know what, never mind." With that, Zoro headed over to the mysterious box to investigate himself, leaving the old man quite confused.

"Recycling?" Zoro frowned, reading off the side of the green box as he approached. He hadn't a clue what the heck that meant. The box was peculiar; it was split into a few sections, each with a large hole in their respective lids. There were words written on each also: glass, plastic, paper, and metal.

Metal! That's what he was looking for!

Without a second thought, he pried off the lid, which had been bolted shut, and stuck the top half of his body into the box for a rummage.

At this minute, perhaps by pure bad luck, a few teenage chavs happened to walk by and, seeing a random butt sticking out of a recycling bin, burst out laughing. Thinking it would be funny, they then grabbed Zoro's legs without a warning and tipped him in. He landed with a crash as the chavs sat on the lid so he couldn't get out.

"OI!" Zoro shouted furiously, banging on the sides. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The bin rattled and shook with Zoro's struggling, so much that it slightly unnerved the teens. Finally, thoroughly irritated, Zoro punched upwards hard and slammed open the lid, sending the boy sitting on it flying and leaving a huge, dented fist mark on the hard plastic.

"What was that for?" demanded Zoro, glaring at the remaining teens. They flinched and then scattered in terror. "Oi, wait!" yelled Zoro, grabbing one of them before they could escape. "Tell me this: what happens to katana if they're left in the middle of the street?"

Panicking, the chav, having a limited weaponry vocabulary, didn't really understand what Zoro was implying by 'katana', so just answered, "I-I don't know, w-whatever they are, if they're l-l-left lying around, the garbage truck could have p-picked them up!"

"Garbage truck?"

The chav nodded and Zoro let him go. 'Garbage truck,' thought Zoro with a frown. 'What's that?'

"OHMIGOD!"

Zoro turned sharply to the source of the voice and saw a blonde teen girl standing on the other side of the road, gawking at him.

"It's the super hot dude from the swimming pool!" she declared excitedly. "And, he just beat up that bunch of chavs!"

Zoro's blood ran cold, remembering his fan-club from back then.

"Really?" chorused a load of girls' voices, and suddenly that blonde girl was surrounded by a whole mob that appeared out of nowhere.

"_What the hell!_" cried Zoro, scampering away.

"WAIT! WE LOVE YOOUU!" screamed the girls, beginning to give chase.

* * *

"I'm not even sorry for losing his katana anymore!" exclaimed Lynn, frustrated after searching all over the place for the swordsman. After they discovered that Zoro had run off, Nami, Lynn, Luffy, and Usopp had set out to look for him. Sanji, after receiving a good scolding from Nami for losing track of Zoro, stayed at the hotel because he had to work; but not that he cared much about the marimo's whereabouts, anyway.

"Where could he have gone?" scowled Nami.

"I bet I could suggest a good hundred places…" Lynn murmured gloomily.

"Right, name the first destination, and we'll try them in turn."

Lynn blinked and her eyes widened in horror. "You're kidding me." She looked at Nami's irritated yet totally serious expression and sighed, muttering darkly, "Thank you for ruining a perfectly good Saturday, Roronoa Asshole Zoro."

* * *

Zoro peeked out of his hiding spot to see if he had lost his crazy fans. He hadn't. They still wandered up and down the street, certain that Zoro was around. Looked like he couldn't come out just yet. Might as well stay in here for the time being, he figured.

He ducked into the garbage truck's back again and sighed.

* * *

A loud rattling and lots of machine grinding noises caused Zoro to jerk up with a start. Except he couldn't jerk up; he was being crushed by a load of… god-knows-what. He couldn't even see in the darkness that surrounded him. His senses rushed back to him as a dreadful stench pierced his nostrils and made him grimace in disgust.

What the hell was happening? He couldn't quite grasp what was going on; all he knew was he wasn't in a good situation.

Something heavy knocked him on the head and he tried to curse, but was thrown off his feet by a sudden tilting of the ground he was standing on.

A burst of light blinded him for a second as some sort of gate opened not far ahead. He didn't have to analyse what it was before he felt himself sliding speedily towards it.

_BOOF_.

Zoro landed with a crash into a soft mushy mess and groaned.

"What the hell is…" his eyes widened as he stared at the sight around him. "…GOING ON?"

He was sitting on a pile of rotting rubbish and surrounded by similar mountains of garbage.

"What _is_ this?" he questioned in disgust as he pulled banana peels and other crap from his short hair.

"What the… Someone fell out of the truck!" a voice called.

Zoro lifted his head and saw the startled truck driver sticking his head out of his window and gawking.

Oh. That was it. Zoro remembered now. He was trying to escape from his fan club when he noticed a huge machine with wheels that stood at the side of the street, and noticing the word 'garbage' painted on the side of it, thought that maybe this was the 'garbage truck' that chav had been talking about. If so then maybe this truck could take him to his katana.

Since he was searching for a place to hide, anyway, he decided to hide himself in the back of the truck. And his fans took quite a while to go away, so maybe he accidentally fell asleep for a little while…

Crap. That would be why he found himself in a rubbish dump then, but since he was here anyway, he might as well look for his katana. He trekked through knee-high loads of garbage and began his search.

A good half hour ploughing through garbage later, Zoro poked his head out, shaking gloop from his hair.

"This is going to take forever," he growled irritably. "What is with these mountains of junk?"

From a small distance away, the truck driver, whom Zoro had completely ignored, had gathered his fellows and were all discussing why on earth that green-haired young man who had fallen out of the back of the truck appeared to be perfectly fine and was ignoring them whilst searching for something. Yes, they were quite bewildered.

They continued to stare as Zoro got tired of plunging through garbage and made his way over to a row of garbage trucks. He only disappeared from their sight for a minute or two, but in that short amount of time, managed to do something dreadful. The men watched in horror as the trucks went toppling over, knocking each other down like dominos and bursting into an explosion of flames as they connected with the ground; perhaps because their oil tanks had all started 'mysteriously' leaking.

"Oops," said Zoro, scratching the back of his neck, standing behind the chaotic scene.

He got chased by more-than-furious garbage men out of the landfill site before you could say, 'don't blow up garbage trucks.'

* * *

What a fabulous day Zoro was having. He now walked down an unfamiliar street. Having finally lost the gang of mad garbage men demanding compensation, clothes covered in crap remnants and stinking like hell, all he did was gain bewildered and disgusted looks from passersby's. Still. He wasn't about to give up his search for his katana. Despite the fact he had no clue where he was nor where to go. But, well, something was bound to come across his attention that would aid his search, he figured.

And, surprisingly, he was right.

Zoro noticed a peculiar sign. 'School of Martial arts,' was what it read. 'So… is that like a dojo?' thought Zoro. If so, then maybe they would have some clues as to where his katana might be. With a nod, Zoro stepped inside the doors. The first thing he noticed was the reception area, similar to what was back at the hotel. Strange.

"Can I help you?" asked the girl sitting at the reception table, holding her nose and giving Zoro a funny look.

"Yeah. Do you know where I can go to find a lost katana?"

The girl blinked. "Katana?"

Zoro sighed. "Never mind. Where can I speak to the person in charge?"

"He's teaching," the girl replied. "Just down the corridor around the corner."

Zoro muttered a word of thanks and went to search, but this is Zoro we're talking about, so he got lost within two seconds.

"Okay… This doesn't look right…" Zoro scratched his head and stared at the dead end he had come to. Turning around, he went back the way he came, but stopped as he arrived at a door. "Maybe the girl meant here," he said thoughtfully, pushing at the door. It didn't open. "Damn, it's jammed," Zoro grunted, shoving harder. Finally, annoyed, he rammed his shoulder against the wood door, and with a _CRASH_, it gave and went slamming against…

"_Yow!_" yelped a voice from the other side, followed by a thud as something fell to the floor.

Zoro grimaced. That couldn't be good. He peeked in and saw a man inside, passed out on the ground. He looked past the man and saw a toilet further in the small room. Oh, so this place was a bathroom… He had thought it might be a training room…

"LOOK!" shouted a childish voice from behind Zoro. Zoro turned, and there stood a little boy, no older than eight years old, pointing and gawking at him and the unconscious man inside the toilet. A few more kids his age lingered about him curiously; it seemed he was like the 'leader' of the bunch. "What have you done to our teacher?" the leader kid demanded.

"It was an accident," said Zoro. "I thought the door was jammed."

"What did our poor teacher ever do to you?" the leader kid continued, ignoring Zoro's explanation. "He taught us great karate, and he just popped to the toilet for a second, and you go and murder him!"

"He's not dead." Zoro rolled his eyes.

The boy ignored him again and turned to the group of kids. "Listen up!" he declared. "Important karate code: we, as the students, must always take revenge if the teacher is hurt!"

"Is that really a code?" asked a little girl.

"I just made it up," he replied in a whisper.

Zoro sighed at their childishness. "Listen, kid…"

"_Hwa-YA!_" yelled the leader boy, kicking Zoro in the stomach, and it was quite a good kick, too. Nothing of 'Sanji' standard, but still great for an eight year old.

Zoro rubbed the spot where he had been attacked and tried to talk again but grimaced when he saw all the other kids were getting into karate stances. Well, he couldn't bring himself to hurt innocent kids, so he turned and ran away.

"GET HIII-II-IIM!" commanded leader boy, and all the kids started to chase the smelly, green-haired 'murderer.'

* * *

Escaping from a bunch of crazy kids was harder than it seemed. For one thing, they were extremely and annoyingly energetic. Seriously, they could almost match up to Luffy in hyper activeness. It took Zoro a while to leave them in the dust. Panting, Zoro quickly ducked into a nearby building to hide himself away in case those kids should find him, but he failed to notice the huge sign that read 'POLICE' that hung on the front of the building.

But, this foolish act was rather a lucky move. Passing down the hallway, he happened to hear a peculiar conversation from inside a room.

"Sir, what do we do with these things?" asked a female voice.

"Just leave them on the desk here," replied a male. "I'll get them sorted out later."

"But who would leave dangerous things like these lying around?" the female persisted. "We need to find the person whom these belong to; someone carrying such life threatening bladed weapons should be taken to court!"

Life threatening weapons? Zoro's ears perked up at these words. Curious, he popped his head around the open door and peeked inside; and he bit his tongue to stop himself from shouting out loud. There, sitting on the desk, were three sheathed katana, perfectly undamaged, and were unmistakably his.

"Sarah, could you smile for once in your life?" the male voice belonged to a bulky man, wearing some sort of uniform with a badge.

"Gordon, _sir_, could you take your job seriously for once in your life?" the woman, Sarah, retorted.

"I will, I will. Just let me take my coffee break first," said Gordon with a yawn, heading towards the door. On seeing them coming his way, Zoro quickly ducked and pressed his body tightly against the wall around the corner. Luckily for him, Gordon and his complaining assistant headed in the opposite direction. As their bickering grew distant and faded, Zoro immediately sped back into the room they were in and snatched his katana off the table.

'Thank goodness they're safe,' thought Zoro, checking them over to see if there were any scratches on them. Thank goodness there weren't. He then grinned for the first time that day, out of pure relief and content.

But, his happy little moment didn't last long, because the mean author of this story won't allow it. Guess which duo Zoro heard coming down the corridor, still bickering, only this time about forgetfulness and unreliability? That's right…

"See, how could you forget your coffee mug when you're intended on taking a coffee break, eh? You really need to get your organisation sorted out and start listening to what I say…"

"Yes, yes, yes…" muttered Gordon as Sarah's voice droned on in the background.

Both of them stopped talking at the same time, stopping in the middle of their sentences, when they entered Gordon's office. A blur of green and white, accompanied by a deafening crash, they found themselves staring at a smashed window, a floor covered in glass shards and an empty desk, the three bladed weapons that were once placed there missing.

"_Security!_" yelled Sarah as alarms above head started to blare.

Gordon rushed to the window, just in time to catch a glimpse of a young man with short green hair, dashing away, three katana in his hand.

"Hey, you! With the dyed green hair!" shouted Gordon. "Stop right there!"

"IT'S MY NATURAL COLOUR!" came an irritated bellow from the distant figure in response, a load of security guards starting after him. "_Got a problem?_"

"…Natural… colour?" Gordon blinked as the sounds of security's shouting voices faded into the distance. "Is green hair even possible?"

* * *

Zoro seemed to have a destiny of being chased today. Now, he had a bunch of security and policemen on his tail, and people were beginning to stare as he sped past them on the street. Quickly ducking around a corner, he stopped for a moment to get his breath back, peeking over the side of the wall to see if his pursuers were still there. Unluckily for him, they were, and they were approaching fast. Hopefully they'd pass him without noticing.

But luck, of course, wasn't on his side, because the mean author of this story hates Zoro and wants him to suffer. So magically out of nowhere, a dog scuttled over and did a piss on Zoro's right leg. The poor swordsman jerked his leg away and cursed the dog silently for peeing on him. So in response, the dog began to bark, and because the evil author made it so, the dog's bark happened to be really loud.

"I see him, over there!" Footsteps headed over to Zoro's direction. Now his position was exposed.

"_Shit!_" cursed Zoro, turning and snarling at the dog. "Why did you have to do that, you stupid animal?"

At this moment, an old wrinkled lady hobbled over and waved her walking stick at him yelling, "Don't be mean to my little darling!"

"But the thing _peed_ on me!" protested Zoro and received a whack on the head from the angry old granny.

"You apologize!" the granny insisted.

But, Zoro really didn't have time, seeing as the load of police were approaching fast, so scurried away without a word.

"Come back and say sorry!" the old nanny joined the police and went after Zoro.

Of course, all this commotion down the middle of the high street caused unwanted attention. A _lot_ of unwanted attention. Guess who noticed the green haired swordsman as he rushed past?

"Look! There he is!" yelled the garbage men.

"Cripes, isn't that the guy who beat up our bud earlier?" demanded a few furious chavs.

"_We love yoooouuu!_" squealed the Zoro fan-girls.

"_Hwa-YA!_" shouted the karate kids, leaping up.

"SHIII-II-IT!" screamed Zoro as he ran for his life.

* * *

"Damn," muttered Gordon as he checked each of the security monitors in the security office. Somehow, none of the cameras scattered around the police station had caught a good, clear picture of the green haired intruder. Some odd silhouettes and images of the back of his head were the best they had. What good was this modern equipment when they needed it?

"Sir," said Sarah, walking into the room with files in hand, "you might want to check out these."

Gordon took a file from her and flicked through it, frowning. "Fingerprints?"

"Yes," she answered. "Those are fingerprints we found in your office." She then handed over another file and took out a new set of fingerprints, placing them side by side. "And these are the fingerprints we found at the swimming pool a few days ago," she said. "Look, they're identical. That means the same person with fingerprints unregistered in our system was at both today's scene and the mysterious swimming pool incident."

The swimming pool incident… Gordon had been pondering over that recently. Were these events related somehow? Who was that mysterious green haired young man?

Gordon shook his head and sighed, unable to link everything together.

* * *

Zoro gritted his teeth in terror. He was being chased by police, crazy fans, random karate kids, a mob of garbage men, a gang of chavs, and an angry old lady with a barking dog. If that wasn't scary enough, the crowd chasing him just seemed to increase by every passing minute! What the hell?

Coincidentally or by pure bad luck, Nami, Lynn, Luffy, and Usopp stood at the side of the curb down the road, trying to decide which way to go to look for Zoro. Lynn was extremely nervous, as she didn't want to deal with any more havoc.

"Please don't let Zoro get into trouble, please don't let Zoro get into trouble," Lynn prayed silently to the sky. Then she opened her eyes and saw Zoro running down the high street, a whole horde chasing after him. And, she did a dramatic fall.

"That looks like fun!" said Luffy, and Lynn stood up and grabbed him before he could go and join Zoro.

"What the hell are we going to do?" Nami muttered, shaking her head.

"Pretend we don't know him?" Lynn suggested hopefully.

Nami sighed. "I'm tempted, but that's not realistic, is it?"

"No…" Lynn sadly admitted.

"_Smoke Star!_" shouted Usopp unexpectedly, and suddenly the whole street was immediately thick with a foggy smoke following an explosion noise. Panic rose instantaneously.

"AARRH! TERRORISTS!"

"Someone call the fire brigade!"

"But there _is_ no fire!"

"I'M BLIND! I'M _BLI-III-IIND_!"

Lynn wanted to shout, 'shut up! It's only smoke!' but held her tongue, because this was actually a great thing. Zoro could now get away from that crowd! She had to admit it was great thinking on Usopp's behalf.

"Luffy!" said Nami, seeing this great opportunity. "Grab Zoro!"

"Alright!" Luffy pulled his arm back and punched though the smoke.

There was a _smack_, followed by a high-pitched cry of, "Yowch!" as Luffy's hand snapped back again.

"Oops," muttered Luffy, thrusting his extended arm into the smoke again. This time he fumbled around for a moment before declaring, "Got him!" His arm reeled in at a high speed and before they could react, the figure grabbed by Luffy's rubber arm smacked straight into Nami, Lynn, and Usopp, sending all of them flying back. They sat up groggily and looked at the heavy thing lying on their laps, and realised it wasn't Zoro. It was a random dude with a beard, now unconscious from the impact. Shocked, they all gave a punch and send the poor dude flying back into the air somewhere.

"IDIOT!" screamed the trio, jumping up and giving Luffy a quick beating.

"Third time's lucky," said Luffy, his bruised and swollen face scrunched in concentration as he extended his arm again to search for his first mate. Shouts of "Pervert!", "It's a ghost!" could be heard inside from over in the crowd.

A few moments later, Luffy shouted again, "I've found him!"

Nami, Lynn and Usopp quickly stepped out of the way as a figure flew past and crashed into the brick wall not far behind them.

"You rubber bastard!" yelled the figure as the rest of the wall collapsed on him.

"That's Zoro alright," said everyone with a nod.

Luffy headed over, dug into the rubble to fish out Zoro, and slung him over his shoulder as he dashed along with the rest of his friends out of the smoke.

* * *

"I swear I'm going to kill you one day," muttered Zoro as he brushed himself off, throwing Luffy a dirty look. Guess he was still pissed off that his captain had chucked him into a brick wall.

All five of them stood in a random empty alley, away from the commotion in the high street where Zoro's pursuers were still looking for him. Also, none of them were in good shape; Nami, Lynn, and Usopp were covered in dirt, Luffy was still bruised from the beating his friends gave him, and Zoro… Do I even need to say? I mean he'd gone through a whole day's worth of torture, all because a certain little shrimp went and idiotically lost his katana.

The said little shrimp was now brushing herself off and as she bent over, noticed something that made her eyes widen. "You found your katana!" she exclaimed pointing to the three bladed weapons strapped to their master's waist. "I'm off the hook!" she added with a triumphant grin and punched the air in joy.

"Where did you find them?" asked Nami, looking at Zoro almost suspiciously.

Zoro was about to answer before Lynn suddenly stood still and sniffed.

"What's that stench?" she crinkled her nose. Following the source of the smell, she looked at Zoro with wide eyes. "Woah, you smell like shit!" she declared.

An awkward silence fell over everyone as Lynn realised that wasn't something Zoro wanted reminding.

"Anyway… Where did you find your katana?" Nami asked Zoro again, breaking the tension.

He told them of his business in the police station, and received a punch from Lynn and Nami for being such an idiot. Great. Now Zoro was wanted both in the 'One Piece' world _and_ in the real world.

"Wait, if the police are after you now, you'll be recognised too easily in public," said Lynn.

"What? Because of his green hair?" asked Nami.

"Yeah."

An imaginary light bulb flashed above the girls' heads. Nami smiled. Lynn smiled. They exchanged a somewhat evil-plotting look, and then turn to Zoro. The swordsman stared at them for a moment before catching on.

"Oh no," he groaned. "You're not..."

"Oh yes," they said, advancing with a mischievous look in their eyes. "We are..."

* * *

AN: Ha-ha! Can you guess what they're going to do? How's that for a Zoro torture? If you enjoyed this, please, I repeat yet again, PLEASE review, review, review! Please? For the cookies? :3

And a big thank you to 'Rexan' for beta-ing again. :D

'Where-my-ideas-came-from' section

You know when Zoro talked to the old man with the ridiculous hearing problem? That was inspired by that time a while ago when I asked an old man just like that for directions.

Me: Excuse me, do you know how to get to David Lloyds sports centre?

Old dude: I'm sorry?

Me: Do you know how to get to DAVID LLOYDS?

OD: Loys…?

Me: DAVID LLOYDS!

OD: I'm sorry. I can't hear you.

Me: DAY. VID. LLOOOOYYYYYDDSSSSSSS~

OD: I'm sorry. I don't know anyone called David.

Me: _*passes out*_

Okay, the passing out didn't really happen, but you get the idea. And, I couldn't just leave either because that would be rude, and I'm not a very patient person, so it was kind of frustrating. -_-

Oh and when Zoro fell into the recycling bin? Well, that happened to me once when I was seven, so I couldn't even climb back out again until my dad heard me screaming and banging. Oh, and except it wasn't a recycling bin, it was a proper rubbish bin. And it wasn't chavs that shoved me in; I just lost my balance. (Don't ask me what I was doing climbing a rubbish bin.) I stank for a week after that. Joy. ¬.¬

**Next time:** When the circus comes to town, Luffy and the gang go to watch, but they get an unexpected surprise. Oh, and so does Zoro when Lynn and Nami's little 'plot' goes a bit wrong...


	13. Circuses and Bad Hair days

Luffy: _*looks around*_ Where's SS?

Usopp: Yeah, isn't she supposed to be here doing one of her pointless disclaimers right now?

Nami: She can't.

Luffy: Eh? Why not?

_*SS runs past, screaming, and is being chased by Zoro… who's holding his three katana and slashing around like mad*_

Nami: _That _would be why.

Usopp: So… Zoro finally found out who the writer of this crappy story was, eh?

Nami: Uh-huh, and apparently she's planning on more Zoro torture in this chapter. Hence the reason he's hunting her down.

Sanji: _*pops out from nowhere*_ Zoro torture? REALLY? SS-chan! I'm coming to save you!_ *runs off*_

(And, that is how I'm still alive and writing this story today. Please review! :P)

**

* * *

**********************************************************************

Chapter 13 – Circuses and Bad Hair Days

It was late afternoon; Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Luffy were at the hotel, and Lynn had sneaked back to town with Nami so they could make a move on their plan. They were now standing in front of a shelf in Boots, pondering.

"So… what colour?" asked Lynn, nudging Nami in the side gently.

"I say electric blue," she replied.

"Nah, I go for orange."

"No way."

"Aw, but then he'd be just like you!"

"More the reason. _No_."

"Fine. How about red?"

"That's an insult to Red-Haired Shanks..."

"What about yellow?"

"Can you imagine Sanji's fury?"

"Well, how's black?"

"Yeah! Luffy'll be so proud!"

"Oh, wait… I won't be," said Lynn, pointing at her own raven hair, "and plus, black isn't funny enough!"

"Why did you even suggest it, then? Right. Then… how about silver?"

"I prefer purple."

The girls looked around the shelf, and their eyes settled on a box near the top. Lynn grinned. Nami grinned.

"Pink it is!" they announced in unison, taking the kit to checkout.

* * *

"Stop squirming, dammit!" shouted Lynn, trying to keep Zoro's head from thrashing about. It was really annoying her that he wouldn't keep still. Even tied up and gagged, he was full of energy.

"Shh!" hushed Nami. "People can probably hear you from next door!"

"Oh, I forgot." Lynn lowered her voice. "But, _you_ try dealing with this thing!" She smacked Zoro's head. The poor swordsman cursed and swore, extremely pissed off that he was being harassed by two girls who wanted to dye his hair.

And, the fact that he didn't know what colour just made things all the worse.

"Sanji-kun!" Nami called to Sanji, who sat smoking on the bed. "A little help, please?"

"No problem!" He rose and headed over.

Sure, he knew that the girls were only supposed to be disguising the swordsman, but since even they couldn't defy the temptation of Zoro-torture, why should Sanji say anything against it?

"Wurwy wow, wongu _gare!"_ Zoro snarled, words muffled by the gag in his mouth. He was trying to say, 'Curly brow, don't you _dare!'_ but of course, it didn't come out properly.

"Shut it, marimo, and let the ladies have their fun." Sanji gave him a kick to the shin.

"Gagafa blagablablah wuggle woo!"

Nobody could understand a word Zoro was trying to say, but they could tell by his expression that he was cursing Sanji's ass off.

"Don't be so rude," said Sanji, pinching Zoro's nose. The swordsman tried to head-butt him but failed. Sanji turned to Lynn and Nami, rolling his eyes. "Can I just knock him out?"

They gave him a thumbs up, and Zoro's eyes widened as Sanji's leg came down hard over his head.

"Gasward!" Zoro cried, thrashing harder than ever, a huge bump rising from the top of his head.

"God, this guy's tough," Sanji tutted, deciding to try something else. He walked over to his bag, fished something out, and walked back over to Zoro. Then he removed Zoro's gag before the two girls could protest.

"Bastard!" the furious swordsman yelled as soon as his mouth was freed. "I'm going to kill you! And, I'm going to get you two bitches back for this, too! Just you wait! What the hell are you playing at, tying me down and trying to dye my hair – what have you got against my colour? What did I ever do to—"

He was cut off his little rant when Sanji stuffed something into his mouth. He couldn't help but swallow it.

"What the hell was that, eyebrow freak? What are trying to do, dammit? Ero-cook! What did you just feed me? What—"

The gag went back into his mouth, and his cursing became muffled again. Sanji took a puff on his cigarette.

"Damn, you're a noisy thing," he snarled. Then he held out three fingers and began a countdown. "Three... Two... One..."

Zoro's eyes rolled back into his head on cue, and he slumped. Lynn and Nami blinked and looked up at Sanji.

"What did you do, Sanji-kun?" asked Nami, tilting her head.

"Drugged him," he replied. "I got this new medicine from Chopper quite a while ago; just never got the chance to try it out. It knocks people out in three seconds, and its effects last for about an hour. I think that should be long enough for you to dye his hair."

"Nice!" Nami shot him a thumbs up, and Sanji grinned, pleased.

"Can you help us prepare the dye?" asked Lynn, holding out a small bottle to him. "Just add water and mix."

Sanji nodded, took it, and walked away with a somewhat evil smile on his face.

Nami straightened Zoro's head, Lynn got out some plastic gloves, and they grinned at each other before starting.

* * *

Zoro's eyes felt heavy. He felt groggy. Tired. A weird smell penetrated his nostrils, and he sneezed. The sneeze made his head rather clearer, actually, as he now opened his eyes and looked around. Catching sight of Lynn and Nami, sitting on the edge of the nearby bed, chatting, memories of earlier events flooded back into his mind, and he grew mad.

"Bitches!" he cried, able to speak now because his gag had been removed. He was still tied to the chair, though, so he began angrily hopping around.

Lynn and Nami looked in his direction and sniggered.

"Think it's ready?" asked Nami to Lynn, and Lynn nodded.

"Now let's see the moss head's new colour! Or should I say… _candy floss_ head!"

Zoro blinked. 'Candy floss? Oh no, they didn't...'

"You dyed my hair _pink?_" he screamed, struggling. He felt a towel wrapped around the top of his head, covering his hair. He tried to raise a hand and jerk it off, but couldn't move. Why pink? Out of all the colours, why oh why _pink?_

"Should I remove it?" sneered Sanji, leaning against the wall beside Zoro. On seeing him, Zoro's fury just grew, and he jumped up and down in the chair, trying to bounce over and squash Sanji or something.

"Just be glad we decided not to go 'Operation Bald-Swordsman'," said Lynn, rolling her eyes.

_"YOU WERE PLANNING TO SHAVE MY HAIR OFF?"_

Lynn nodded bluntly.

"You try to shave my hair off and I'll shave your _head_ off, I swear!"

"Chill," said Lynn. "We abandoned the idea. Dying your hair seemed much more amusing."

"Take the towel off, Sanji-kun!" Nami grinned, and Sanji acted out her orders obediently. As soon as Zoro's new colour was revealed, the room fell silent.

Lynn blinked. Nami's jaw dropped open. Sanji stared.

And, then all three of them burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"_What's so funny?_" Zoro demanded, baring his teeth at the three who were rolling around on the floor in fits.

"It's... too... funny..." gasped Lynn between laughs.

"I... thought we made it... pink?" hooted Nami, wiping a tear from her eye.

"We _did__!"_ cried Lynn in stitches. "But... this is just too epic!"

Sanji couldn't even say anything. He was holding his sides, doubling over in laughter.

"What the heck is so funny?" Zoro bounced on his chair over to the bathroom and peered into the mirror. Then his jaw dropped, and he couldn't even move due to shock. Staring at the ridiculous looking person in the mirror, Zoro's fury had passed it limits now. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO ME?"

* * *

Luffy and Usopp sat in their hotel room on their separate beds, flicking through channels on the small TV that sat on the dressing table. From next door, all they could hear was chaos and riot. Crashing and shouting, thumps and bumps, laughing and screaming…

"Sounds like they're having fun next door," muttered Usopp.

"Let's go and see what's going on!" Luffy jumped up and pulled Usopp with him into the hallway. When they opened the door to Room 44, they got the shock of their lives. Zoro and Sanji were battling away, destroying everything around them, whilst Lynn and Nami just sat and laughed. Sure, it was strange that they weren't doing anything to stop the two idiots, but what really made Luffy and Usopp gawk was Zoro. His hair was totally… _horrific_.

They exchanged a look.

And then completely cracked up.

* * *

Nobody could stop laughing at Zoro's new hair. It was all different shades of the rainbow; and only a hint of pink, which was the colour it was suppose to be. I mean, I bet you've seen rainbow hair before; it's weird right? But, Zoro's hair wasn't just neatly rainbow coloured. To keep a long description short, just imagine someone ate a load of different colours then barfed it back up.

Colourful puke; yes, it was _that_ bad. There was a patch of hair completely missing on the back of his head, and that patch was also rainbow coloured, since his scalp was dyed, too. So… now he had rainbow puke hair and a rainbow puke bald patch.

Nice.

Lynn and Nami were confused as to why Zoro's hair (head, even) ended up being such a crazy mess but were cracking up too much to ask about it. Sanji fessed up after a while, though.

"Yeah, I admit it was me," he sniggered. "I just couldn't pass up the opportunity! So, err, I added some _stuff_ to the dye that I _really_ wanted to mix in!"

"What did you add?" asked Lynn.

"Mostly food colouring and clothes dye, but while I was at it, I added sauces, toothpaste, and God knows what else!"

Zoro sniffed the air and finally realised why his hair smelt minty and vinegary at the same time.

"That would probably be why his scalp is dyed, too," giggled Nami. "But, then how do you explain the bald patch?"

Sanji laughed. "Oh, that might be because of the tiny bit of bleach I added to the dye, too!"

Zoro now exploded. "BASTARD!"

* * *

Zoro's fury was extremely hard to contain, so Lynn left them to it. She slipped out of the hotel to go back home; those pirates could sort out themselves out.

But, as soon as she stepped through her house's back door, she regretted ever leaving the hotel.

"Lynn Elizabeth Mary Sue Vienna!" shouted Mrs. Vienna sternly, standing cross armed in the hallway, obviously expecting her arrival. "Where the heck have you been all day?"

Lynn blinked. "Since when did I have so many middle names?"

"I just made them up. Saying a load of middle names helps to take out a mother's stress."

"Oh. That's kind of retar—"

"_Answer my question!_"

"Err…"

Mrs. Vienna held up Lynn's 'Do Not Disturb' sign furiously. "This thing only works if you sneak out for a little while, not for a whole day!"

"Oh, I forgot. Next time when I sneak out, I'll remember to—"

"_Next time?_ There won't_ be_ a next time! _Do I make myself clear!"_

"Pretty clear, ma'am," said Lynn, rubbing her almost deafened ears.

"And, what about your mobile? I've been calling it all day, and all I get is your stupid voicemail."

"I forgot to switch it on…"

"You _never_ have it on when you're supposed to! That's it. I'm confiscating."

"What? But, I just—"

"Hand it over."

"But—"

_"Now!"_

Lynn grumbled a bit as she fished her mobile from her pocket and placed it into her mother's waiting hand. Mrs. Vienna put Lynn's mobile on the coffee table and went back to the questioning.

"So, where have you been all day, eh?" Mrs. Vienna narrowed her eyes.

"Um… Hanging out?"

"Where?"

"Just… places…"

"With whom?"

"Err… People…?"

Mrs. Vienna leant over Lynn with an 'any-more-cheek-and-I'll-eat-you-alive' look in her eyes.

"I-It won't happen a-again, mum," said Lynn shakily, with a sheepish smile. "I'll… um, just excuse myself…" She turned and walked away nervously, trying to make her way back to her room without being killed.

"Don't let me catch you sneaking out again, or you'll be grounded for _life!"_ shouted Mrs. Vienna. _"Now go to your ROOM!"_

"That's where I'm going!" replied Lynn, breaking into a run and escaping from her terrifying mother. 'And, no way in hell am I going to let you catch me again,' she added to herself. 'I need to think of some new ways to sneak out…'

* * *

All evening, Lynn's parents threw dirty looks at her every time she walked past, but they really couldn't be blamed. If your daughter snuck out the whole day after she was grounded and tried to fool you with a crappy note, you wouldn't exactly be a 'happy bunny' either, would you?

Straight after dinner, Lynn headed upstairs to her room without a word to do some homework. Even though she hated the fact she still had to do homework whilst having to keep an eye out for a bunch of pirates and lost shards of wood, it wasn't like she could just say to her teacher, "Yo! I haven't done any homework, because I've been busy hanging out with fictional characters! Peace, dude!"

Scratching her head, she stared on her Algebra equations page. With Luffy around every day at school she found it hard to keep up with her subjects. She used to be quite good at maths, but now she was slightly behind. And, it'd only been a week!

Lynn couldn't imagine what would happen if the Straw Hats stayed for a further, much longer period of time. Sure, she enjoyed their company, but she needed an education if she wanted to earn a living; money doesn't grow out of trees, you know. Despite her laziness, Lynn wanted a future, thank you very much.

A tapping outside her window distracted her from her worries, and she went over to see what was going on.

And, she got a major surprise when she drew her curtains. A small blue feathered bird sat on her windowsill and pecked the glass, trying perhaps to break in.

_"Ah!_ It's you, stupid bird!" cried Lynn, recognising it immediately. "You were the reason I got grounded!"

"Tweet tweeeet," corrected the bird, pecking on the glass again. (Translation: "Actually, I was the 'final straw'.")

"Don't you 'tweet tweet' me!" snarled Lynn, slapping her hand against the window.

The bird turned and flew away, with a somewhat arrogant expression on its face. Lynn drew the curtains again and went to sit back down, grumbling to herself. As soon as she touched her seat, though, the tapping on her window started up again.

So she ran to the window again, only to just catch a glimpse of that darn bird flying away. 'The stupid thing's making fun of me,' thought Lynn furiously as she went back to her seat again. But, same as last time, the tapping started again. Lynn gave off a dark aura of fury as she stomped to the window once more.

_"What the heck do you want!"_ she shouted, pulling open the curtains sharply. All she saw was a blur of red as something fell downwards from her window and another figure on the right, steadying himself by holding onto the pipe on the side of the house, also shaken from her sudden outburst. Lynn blinked.

It was Usopp.

"What's your problem!" he demanded angrily. "You scared us!"

"…'Us'?" Lynn opened the window quickly and looked down. There, on the ground, sat Luffy, putting his hat back on. Lynn sweat dropped.

"Sorry," she apologised. "I just thought—"

"That was dangerous!" cried Usopp. "If I hadn't been holding on to this pipe, I could have fallen, too!"

"Good. Why don't you do that?" said Lynn calmly, reaching over and shoving the poor sharpshooter over. "Get off my windowsill."

Usopp cried out as he toppled to the ground and landed with a loud _BOOF._ "What was _that_ for?" he demanded, wincing in pain.

Lynn was about to answer sarcastically but stopped when she heard footsteps stomping down the stairs and her parents wondering out loud what the noise outside was.

"Come on, come on, come on! Get up here _now!"_ Lynn hissed to Luffy and Usopp, waving her hand like a maniac. Luffy nodded and one hand grabbing Usopp's waist, he stretched his other arm up to Lynn's windowsill. They flew through the window and landed on her bedroom floor just as her parents burst out of the front door to investigate. Lynn quickly closed the window and drew the curtains so her parents wouldn't get suspicious.

"Man, that was close!" exclaimed Luffy, brushing himself off and standing up.

"We should still keep quiet, though," whispered Lynn. "If my mum finds you two in here, she'll eat me alive."

"Your mum's a cannibal?" Luffy's jaw dropped in surprise.

"Yes, she's a cannibal," Lynn muttered sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"That's awesome! I want her join my cr—"

"No. Stop _right_ there. No. Just… No. … Right. Now tell me, what are you two doing here?"

"Oh, yeah," said Luffy, just remembering that he came over for a reason. He fumbled in his pockets and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. "See, I wanted to show you this."

Lynn took the sheet and opened it. It was a poster. "'The Crazy Circus'?" Lynn read off the caption on the top of the page. "'A fantastic experience for all ages.'"

"Doesn't it look _cool?"_ Luffy beamed.

Lynn scanned over the exciting looking actions shots and grinned. "It looks awesome!" She looked up at Luffy. "Are you guys planning to go?"

"Yeah, we are," replied Usopp. "Luffy found the poster in the hotel lounge earlier and has been pumped up since."

"I didn't ask _you,"_ said Lynn coldly. Usopp flinched, somehow getting the message that this girl seriously didn't like him. "Why did you even come here in the first place?" Lynn continued in a grumble. "You don't need two people to show me a poster."

"Well, I had no choice," Usopp explained. "Luffy would've got lost if he came on his own, so he needed someone to come with him. Zoro's a No-No, since he's even more hopeless than Luffy when it comes to directions, and, plus, he'd probably murder you if he saw you. Sanji wanted to come, but he's too busy fighting Zoro on your behalf, and Nami couldn't be bothered to come all the way over here. So… that just leaves me."

"Oh, well, that's just _great…"_

"Anyway!" Luffy broke in. "About the circus! Nami said she couldn't get through to you on your mobile, so she sent me over to show you the poster. We were thinking of going tomorrow evening; you wanna come?"

Lynn grinned. "Definitely! I haven't seen a circus in years! I'm so in!"

"Aren't you grounded?" Usopp raised an eyebrow.

Lynn turned to him with an icy glare. He shivered, almost feeling the cold. "I'll think of something," Lynn said frostily. "Don't bummer my enthusiasm."

"O-okay…" He shivered again.

"So, are you coming, then?" Luffy asked excitedly.

"You bet I am!" beamed Lynn, breaking her bitter aura.

Luffy and Lynn both cheered and slapped a high-five, whilst Usopp was busy trembling from Lynn's previous iciness in a corner.

* * *

After Lynn saw Luffy and Usopp off (escaped from her window), she sat back in front of her table with a smile, getting ready to finish her homework. But, just as she picked up her pen, there was another tapping on the window.

"What, did you forget something?" Lynn went over to the window and drew the curtains, thinking it was Luffy or Usopp, but it wasn't.

"_You again!"_

"Twee-twee-eet!" (Translation: "I'm baa-ack!")

Lynn glowered at the little blue bird whilst opening the window. The two, human and bird, had a little stare down, kind of like what Zoro and Sanji always do, but suddenly Lynn felt a strange sensation under her T-shirt.

She looked down and noticed her pendant was pushing against her clothing; there must be a wood shard nearby! Ignoring the bird for a second, she fished out her pendant and held it up to see whereabouts it was pointing to, and her jaw fell open when she saw that it was pointing directly at that damn little bird.

"H-how?" stuttered Lynn. There wasn't a shard stuck in the bird's feathers, and there wasn't one caught on its feet or beak. Then…? "Oh… no, please don't tell me…"

"…Tweet?" (Translation: "…Eh?") The bird stared at Lynn. Why was that human carrying such a startled and horror-struck expression?

Lynn held the pendant closer to the bird, and sure enough, like she expected, it pointed straight to its stomach. Right, so now it was confirmed…

"You _idiot!" _screamed Lynn, grabbing the poor bird suddenly. "You did _not_ just _eat_ the GATE SHARD!" She pinched the bird by its feet and shook it up and down in frenzy. "Spit it out, spit it out, spit it _oouuut!"_

"Tw—_eeeeeegh!"_ The bird made many un-bird-like noises whilst being tortured by this crazy girl. Compared to this, being strangled by Luffy for ripping his hat was gentle handling.

"Wood is not food! You do not eat wood! Wood! Not for eating! Wood! No eat! _Gaah!_ No eat! No! Bad birdie! _Bad!"_

Lynn was completely freaking out. None of what she was saying made sense, even to herself. She didn't even understand _why_ she was freaking out so much. All that went through her mind at the moment was 'Wood! Gone! _Eaten!_ Must kill!'

_"Baad evil biirrddy ofDOOOOOOOM!"_

As soon as those words left her mouth even Lynn herself felt a complete and utter idiot. She paused and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. God, being stressed out made her do stupid things.

Finally, thinking a bit more clearly, Lynn placed the bird back on the windowsill. The poor thing couldn't even stand up or tweet anymore; it was half dead.

"Right, I need to get that gate shard out somehow…" muttered Lynn to herself. "So, the most rational way is…" She went over to her pencil case and fumbled around. The bird lifted its head weakly to see what the crazy girl was up to this time, and it had a total heart attack when it saw what Lynn carried with her as she walked back.

A pair of scissors.

"TWAA_AH_HH!" (Translation: "OH MY HOLY GOD SHE'S _AFTER_ ME!") Horror struck, the bird scampered, flopped out of the window, and fell straight downwards.

"Wait!" shouted Lynn after the bird. "Don't commit suicide yet! Let me get the wood shard out first!"

She leant out of the window and pouted as she watched the bird spread its wings quickly and soar away. Well, there went her shard of wood.

Letting out a disappointed sigh, she closed her window and went over to her bed to lie down and figure out what on earth to do next.

The bird, on the other hand, was sighing in pure relief. It had finally escaped hellishness, and it had only one thought repeating through its mind as it flew away speedily. 'Never go near that evil girl again. Never go near that evil girl again…'

* * *

Sunday morning came before she knew it, and Lynn tossed in her bed uncomfortably, questions from the night before flooding back into her head. How was she going to retrieve that wood shard? And, how was she going to sneak out tonight?

She had just woken up, and she was already stressed. And, geez, being stressed first thing in the morning was _not_ good for her; not one bit.

Lynn jumped out of bed groggily and checked her alarm clock; 8 AM, not too late. She wanted to quickly pop over to the hotel to confirm the circus times for this evening with Nami. Normally this would have been settled by a phone call, but her idiot-mother had confiscated her mobile.

Pulling on her clothes from yesterday and also grabbing a white baseball cap from inside her closet, Lynn figured it would help her get on Zoro's good side.

Or at least help ease his hatred for her a bit.

Lynn then headed down stairs, only to run into her mum in the kitchen.

But, luckily for her, Lynn's mum was also dozy in the morning.

"Wher'you go…ing?" yawned Mrs. Vienna sleepily, cup of coffee in hand, obviously just gotten up.

"To fetch the newspaper," Lynn muttered, going out of the front door without further ado.

"Oh, okay. Don't'ake long," Mrs. Vienna agreed, drowsily slurring together 'don't' and 'take'. She walked to the dining table, sat down, and took a sip of her coffee. And, then she blinked and frowned.

"But, we don't get the newspaper…"

* * *

Lynn ran straight over to the hotel where the Straw Hats were staying and went upstairs to Nami's room without a pause.

"Hey, Nami?" Lynn poked her head through Nami's door. Nami was sitting on her bed, reading a magazine, and she lifted her head at the sound of Lynn's voice.

"Lynn!" Nami got up and went over, a slightly irritated look in her eyes. "What the hell happened to your phone? I was calling it all last night, and all I got was your stupid 'Please leave a message after the tone; _BEEEEP_' thing!"

"Oh, that would be my voicemail. My mum confiscated my phone."

"Well, you could have told me!"

"Yeah. How? My phone got confiscated!"

"Well, you could have—" Nami sighed. "Never mind. What do you want?"

"Just wondering what time I should meet you guys for the circus tonight."

"I thought you were grounded."

Lynn rolled her eyes. "Why does everyone like to kill my enthusiasm so much? I'll think of something!"

"Alright, alright. The show starts at 7:30; come over to the hotel at about 6 PM."

"Right."

Nami paused and thought for a second before saying, "What's your house phone number?"

"Eh?"

"Your house phone. I know you have one. Give me the number."

"Why?"

"You'll see tonight."

"You know I hate people being all mysterious…?" Lynn rolled her eyes but wrote down the number for Nami, anyway, on a piece of scrap paper.

"Shouldn't you be getting back home now?" asked Nami, putting the paper in her pocket. "You're sneaking out again, aren't you?"

"Well, actually, I walked straight out of the front door."

Nami raised an eyebrow.

"But… Yeah, I should be getting back now. I'm just going to quickly pop over to Zoro's room before I go, though."

"…Good luck with _that…"_

* * *

"Helloo-o," said Lynn, poking her head in through his door cautiously.

Inside, Zoro and Sanji were standing in the middle of the room having a 'Who-has-the-scariest-look-on-their-faces' competition. When they heard Lynn, the competition ended. Sanji burst into a smile and turned to her, while Zoro burst into an 'Oh-so-you-came-to-die' scowl and turned to her, too.

"What can I do for you today, Lynn-chwan?" Sanji asked cheerfully.

"Oh, I just wanted to talk to Zor—"

"What the hell do you want?"

Lynn flinched at the aggression in Zoro's voice. "I-I come in peace," she said nervously.

"Lynn-chan is so cute when she acts all innocent!" Sanji began to do his little noodle dance.

Lynn sweat dropped. "Um, don't you have some cooking to do downstairs?"

"Oh… Yeah." Sanji headed over to the door but before leaving said goodbye to Lynn and hissed a load of insults and threats at Zoro. Then he closed the door before the swordsman could retort.

"Hurry up, and what do you want?" Zoro turned back to Lynn with a scowl.

"I just wanted to give you this." Lynn handed him the white baseball cap. "Something to cover your… um, hair with."

Zoro took the cap, raising an eyebrow somewhat suspiciously. He _really_ didn't trust this girl. First, she goes and stupidly loses his katana, and after he goes through all that trouble to retrieve them, she goes and tells him off. Then she uses the excuse to disguise him to screw up his hair. He had a good reason to want to kill her.

"…Are you still mad?"

"What do you _think?"_

Lynn smiled sheepishly. "Well, at least the police won't recognise you anymore! And… Rainbow puke hair and a bald patch don't look _that_ bad…"

She was forced to back out of the room with a katana shoved up against her neck.

"Well, I can tell_ that_ certainly went well," sniggered Nami, leaning against the wall. The door slammed shut in Lynn's face. "You _do_ know he still wants to kill you, right?"

"Like I haven't noticed…"

"But, he's especially angry today. Know why?"

Lynn shook her head and Nami went to whisper in her ear, giggling slightly. After Nami pulled back, Lynn blinked and stared at her for a second before bursting into hysterics.

"Hahahahahaha! The dye won't come off? Haha! Zoro's going to stay rainbow-puke haired forever! Hahah—"

Lynn's laughter was cut short as a katana blade pierced through the wooden door behind her and shot past her cheek, only just missing her flesh. The blood drained from her face as she cast a horrified look at the sharp blade next to her face, and she gulped.

"Zoro, you're going to have to pay for that, too," said Nami, examining the damage done to the door.

"I think I'm going to go home now…" Lynn muttered, walking away shakily.

* * *

Lynn popped into the newsagents on her way home to buy a random newspaper. Then, newspaper in hand, she walked home confidently, planning what she was going to do when she got there. As she expected, her mum was waiting when she entered the house.

"Lynn, where have you—"

Lynn held up her newspaper, cutting off her mum's question as she walked through the front door.

"But, you're grou—"

"This is a resource for my English homework."

"Well, why did you take so—"

"There was a massive queue."

"…Did you prepare how you were going to answer or som—"

"Yes, I did."

"You're getting—"

"Annoying?"

"… …Yes."

"Well, annoying little me is going upstairs to do my homework now, so do not disturb, thank you very much." Lynn began to make her way up to her room.

"But, what if you try—"

"To sneak out again?"

"…Alright, that is getting _extremely_ annoying now."

Lynn chuckled. "Don't worry; I won't try to sneak out like last time."

"I certainly—"

"Hope not?"

Mrs. Vienna looked like she really wanted to smack her daughter to Pluto, the-used-to-be-a-planet-but-isn't-anymore-apparently-the-poor-little-thing.

Lynn got the message and ran up to her room, giggling like a maniac that she had annoyed the hell out of her mum for once.

* * *

The day passed like a breeze and before Lynn knew it, her alarm clock was reading 5:30 PM.

But, time does fly when you're having fun, and Lynn did have fun whilst at home, having done no homework at all (because she couldn't be bothered). She had just spent the day playing on her computer, reading comics, and doodling in her maths book.

Good times, good times. Casual and totally un-chaotic.

For once.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Mr. and Mrs. Vienna were sitting on the couch, watching TV. They were glad that their daughter was staying in her room obediently for once. Finally, that girl had learnt her lesson.

_RING RING!_

The house phone in the hall began to ring, and Mrs. Vienna stood up to go and answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, is this Lynn's house?" asked an adolescent female voice on the other end.

"Yes, it is. I'm her mother. May I ask who you are?"

"My name is Na—" There was a tiny pause. "Natalie. I'm from Lynn's class. I was wondering if she's free tonight."

"Well, actually, she's grounded at the moment."

"Can you please excuse her from her punishment just for tonight? See, my mother is ill in the hospital, and I want to visit her, but I'm not allowed to take my baby brother. So, he needs looking after, and I can't get through to any other of my trustworthy friends. So…" The girl's voice shook slightly as she continued. "I really…" There was a sniffle on the other end of the line. "I really just want to see my mum…"

"Aw, you poor thing!" Mrs. Vienna sobbed, sympathy for the girl overtaking her. "Alright, I'll let Lynn out just for tonight."

"Thank you so much! I'll remember your kindness forever!"

"That's no problem at all! What time do you want her over for? And whereabouts?"

"About 6 PM. And… She should know whereabouts. Just tell her, _Natalie_ called."

"Alright, I'll pass the message on."

"Thank you!" And, with that, the girl hung up.

Mrs. Vienna put down the receiver and walked straight upstairs to her daughter's room. "Lynn!"

Lynn lifted her head from her computer screen at her mother's call. "What?"

Mrs. Vienna popped her head around the door. "Your friend called; she said she needs you to babysit her baby brother whilst she goes to the hospital tonight."

_"Ehh?_ Tonight?" Lynn cried in shock. She most certainly did _not_ want to miss a chance to go to the circus to go looking after a freaking baby!

"Yes, tonight. Put on a coat and I'll help you get everything you'll need."

"B-but… I'm _grounded!_ And… Tonight?"

"Yes, _tonight!_ Have a bit of sympathy! Her mother is in hospital, for goodness sake!"

"But, still, I can't go toni—" Lynn paused for a second. Wait… A friend of hers whose mother was in the hospital? That wasn't quite right. She didn't _have_ a friend whose mother was in a hospital! "Which 'friend of mine' are you talking about?" she asked.

"Natalie, a girl from your class."

"Natalie?" Lynn blinked. But, there wasn't anyone called…

"Well, hurry up, then!" Mrs. Vienna tapped her foot impatiently. "Aren't you willing to help a friend in need? She said she needs you there at 6 PM!"

6 PM? "Where did she say I have to meet her?"

"She said you should know."

Natalie? 6 PM? 'You should know'?

Lynn smirked, catching on. 'Nice one, Nami,' she thought, following her mum to get packed up in order to leave.

* * *

Arriving at the hotel dead on time (for once) Lynn saw from a distance that the Straw Hats were all standing outside waiting. Upon seeing her, Luffy began to point and shout to his friends happily. They all looked in her direction, and that included Zoro, who was wearing the white baseball cap she gave him and scowling.

"Hey, guys!" Lynn smiled as she came over, ignoring the evil glares from a certain swordsman. "Thanks for waiting!" She turned to Nami with a grin. "And, nice job getting my mum to let me out!"

"It was all a part of my plan!" boasted Usopp, proudly marching past.

He tripped over Lynn's leg, because she suddenly felt like sticking it out in front of him.

"I was thanking _Nami_, creep."

"Ah, it was no problem," Nami winked, "and as repayment for my kindness, your debt will increase by five percent, if that's okay."

"_Eh?_"

"Five percent isn't a lot."

"Yeah, but—"

"There, you said 'yes'. So we have ourselves a deal!"

"_What?_ But, I didn't—" Lynn stopped talking when she saw Nami's beri sign eyes and realised there was no use in arguing. She didn't even bother pointing out that Nami had the wrong currency again.

"Remind me never to let you help me sneak out ever again…" Lynn muttered, shaking her head, feeling deceived.

"What do you have in your bag?" asked Luffy curiously, peering at Lynn's bulging backpack.

"You want it? You can have it." She chucked the bag into Luffy's arms. He caught it, unzipped it, and raised an eyebrow as he tipped out its contents. Out fell a ton of nappies, bottles, baby toys, teddy bears, and talcum powder.

"Why did you bring all this?" he asked, bewildered.

"Long story," Lynn answered, rolling her eyes. "My mum packed it."

"What? Do you get so excited you wet yourself?" Usopp teased evilly, holding up a pack of nappies. The whole backpack went flying in his face and knocked him to the ground.

"Anyway…" Lynn cleared her throat and began walking away. "…let's get going."

* * *

The circus was crowded and chaotic when they got there. Nami reluctantly paid the ticket fees at the door to the big top under the threat that Luffy was about to 'Gomu Gomu no Rocket' himself up onto the top of the 'Awesome Mystery Tent.' After finding some seats with a good view, they sat themselves down, and that was when Lynn realised that Usopp was still carrying her backpack of baby stuff.

"Why on Earth did you bring that?" asked Lynn, giving Usopp a funny look.

"Well, you all started to set off, and I didn't have enough time to chuck this in our hotel room, so I brought it with me."

"Wierdo," Lynn muttered, taking the backpack from him and placing it under her seat. She was actually glad that he had brought the backpack, to be honest; when it was time to go home, her mum would definitely be expecting her to bring the bag back, so it was all good that she had it with her.

Lynn had to wait for at _least _a half hour for the show to start – God, these people sure took a while to get blooming sat down!

So, Lynn used this time to buy some popcorn and snacks from the stalls just outside. She came back to her seat with giant plastic bags full of food, looking as if she'd just been grocery shopping for a family of twenty.

"YUM!" cried Luffy and attacked the bags as if he hadn't eaten since last year.

"To think I prepare so much food for you every day and you still act like a starved little child," mumbled Sanji, shaking his head and took a puff on his cigarette.

He immediately got scolded by Lynn for smoking in public again. Reluctantly, he handed his cigarette over to the girl, and she put it out by reaching over two seats and smushing it in Usopp's hair. Usopp screamed in shock, thinking his hair had caught fire and furiously shook the ash out of his curls. All Lynn did was laugh her head off, accompanied by chuckles and amused glances from the rest of the crew.

The lights began to dim all around and everyone quietened down in anticipation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," boomed a voice from the speakers, the sound echoing around the big top. Spot lights began to circle around the audience at this point.

The Straw Hat crew nearly jumped up from their seats in surprise. The 'search lights', the loud speakers; it seemed just a little too similar to the scene they had encountered when they accidentally landed in the marines base. Lynn saw the crew's shock and hissed a few words of reassurance quickly. They all calmed down on hearing, although still twitching slightly when the spot lights swayed past.

God, the show hadn't even started, and Lynn was already feeling tired, eyeing the Straw Hats warily. But she figured when the acts begin to come on stage they'd all be too amused to create any havoc.

And when the show officially started, she realised she was right.

Acrobats, tightrope walkers, and unicyclists had everyone on the edge of their seats as they performed their stunts, and martial artists showed off their skill and achieved rounds of applause. Of course, their stunts were nothing the Straw Hats couldn't do; in fact, Luffy could bend himself more than any of those professional gymnasts, but their well organised acts accompanied by cheerful music were indeed amazingly entertaining. Most of the snacks were scoffed by Luffy during this part of the show.

Trained animals were then brought onto stage; there were lines of barking seals, tigers jumping flaming hoops of fire, and snakes performing dances. Lynn found the twelve meter long boa with fangs especially cute, much to Nami and Usopp's horror.

Then it was Lynn's turn to be horrified when the magician walked onto stage, pulling dozens of rabbits from his hat as he went and let them hop around stage freely.

Actually, to say 'horrified' would be an understatement; she was practically wetting herself in terror and ended up hiding behind her seat for the whole act.

Only when the clowns came on stage did Lynn slowly sit back down and munch on some left over popcorn nervously, still shaken from the previous act. She found herself loosening up and laughing along with the rest of the audience at the hilarious goings on down in the ring; and she especially cracked up, along with the rest of the crew, when a wrinkly clown wearing a rainbow coloured wig strutted into stage, pouting and posing like a gay model.

Sanji was just about splitting his sides looking down at that clown then glancing back up at the swordsman sitting only a seat away. Zoro sat through this performance with an aura of fury floating around his body.

Soon, the act ended with a flourish, and the lights dimmed all over again. A clown from the previous act stood in the middle of the stage, microphone in hand and addressing the audience.

"And… next up," announced the clown, "the act of the evening; a special performance, exclusively brought to you by 'The Crazy Circus': a spectacular show from the amazing duo!"

A drum roll followed as everyone waited anxiously. A special performance, eh? Ought to be good!

"Richie and his lion!"

Nami, Zoro, Lynn and even Luffy stopped cheering and all blinked. That sounded familiar for some reason. Yet...

"Richie..." Luffy tilted his head.

"And, a lion...?" Nami raised an eyebrow.

Zoro frowned. "That sounds awfully like..."

"But, it's not quite..." Lynn scratched her head.

"I'm awfully sorry!" said the clown suddenly, grinning sheepishly at the audience after being scolded by his fellow clowns. "I... seem to have made a mistake! Please, welcome Mohji! And, _his __lion…_Richie!"

Everyone began to clap as a figure riding on a lion came strolling onto the stage accompanied by circus music.

Nami, Lynn, Zoro and Luffy's jaws all dropped.

"Oh..."

"My..."

"...shit. I knew it..."

Luffy just jumped up from his seat in surprise and yelled at the top of his voice, "MOHJI!"

Mohji heard his name being called and scanned the audience. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw Luffy standing from his seat and the rest of his crew staring at him. "Straw Hat!" he cried in shock.

Everyone in the arena turned to Luffy with a funny look in their eyes. Luffy however, didn't seem to care.

"Mohji!" he continued to shout loudly, attracting more and more attention from the audience. "Why the hell are you—"

He was cut off as both Nami and Lynn clamped his mouth shut and shoved him to the ground, but that didn't stop people from staring. Now everyone thought that there was a murder incident happening right before their very eyes.

"Gah! Too much attention!" wailed Lynn, trying to keep Luffy's struggling to a minimum by now sitting on him; he let out a cry of shock in response to the sudden addition of weight on his back which made him crash to the ground. This actually just made more people stare.

"Just leave him alone – you're making matters worse!" hissed Usopp, but he was the last person Lynn wanted to hear that from. So she just shoved him hard and sent him tumbling off his own seat.

"Great, even _more _people are looking now..." Zoro muttered, scowling. "Stupid woman."

"Don't be mean to Lynn-chan," Sanji snarled.

"Shut up."

"Rainbow puke marimo."

"_WHAT?_"

So, then they got into a fight. Which meant, of course, that most of the people in the arena began to look in their direction instead of at the stage. Well, fighting using feet and fists whilst sitting in seats _did _look kind of weird. Mohji, back down on the stage was confused as hell as to why the Straw Hats were here, but without captain Buggy around he really didn't want to fight them. So the best thing to do now is...

"Run away..." Mohji whispered as he and Richie tiptoed off stage quietly, trying not to be noticed.

"Oi! Don't try and run aw—" Luffy was cut off again as Lynn jumped up and dropped her weight, squishing him down. Finally, annoyed, Luffy stood up sharply, throwing Lynn off and making her crash under the seats. _"What's your problem?"_ Luffy demanded.

"What's _your_ problem?" Lynn retorted, standing back up, rubbing the bump on her head. She was too annoyed now to notice, or even care, that _more_ people were staring.

"You let Mohji get away! And, you kept sitting on me!"

"I was just trying to keep people from staring at us!"

"Who cares if they stare?"

"_I_ care! I don't want any trouble!"

"But, you didn't have to _sit _on me!"

"Well, you wouldn't shut up, would you?"

"I'm the captain; I don't have to shut up!"

"Yes, you do, you rubber idiot!"

Their voices got louder and louder until they were shouting at each other. At the same time, Sanji and Zoro's fight got even more violent, and they now stood up, stepping on Usopp (much to Lynn's delight) unknowingly as they did do and made him pass out.

The lights and sound managers didn't seem to mind that their special act had snuck off stage; everyone appeared to be entertained plenty enough by the crazy group in the audience that were fighting and arguing away. So swinging the spotlight down, the crew was now bathed in the bright beam. Although strangely, no one protested or seemed to care.

Nami was covering her eyes with her hands, mourning that she was the only sane on in their group; and everyone else was either having a who-can-yell-louder match, fighting to the death, or busy being unconscious.

And, everyone in the arena was watching them as if they were the show.

With all the commotion, no one noticed that figure near the bottom of the stadium, watching them from a distance. He raised his phone to his ear.

"Hey, boss," he said into the phone. "I've found Mohji. And, you know those pesky kids you're looking for?" He looked up at Luffy and Lynn. "I've found them, too."

* * *

AN: Sorry if I upset anyone with my Zoro torturing! But, I just couldn't resist the temptation of screwing up his hair big time. X3

Review, review, review if you want to read on anytime soon! Reviews always motivate me to speed up the writing! :D

Next time: The big clash! And, a mini showdown! But, be notified that I'm nowhere_ near _finished, so chapter 14 isn't quite the finale. :P


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